


Don't Look So Surprised

by sparksy00



Category: Glee, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2019-10-21 07:59:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 32,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparksy00/pseuds/sparksy00
Summary: Barry Allen likes his life. He's a CSI by day and the Flash, well, he's the Flash whenever he needs to be. His peaceful life is turned on its head when his brother, Sebastian Smythe comes to town. Barry doesn't like his brother, but Sebastian's got demons of his own. What will happen when two brothers clash?





	1. 1

It's a slow day. Barry drums his fingers on his desk as he idly waits for the day to be over. There were no new assignments today and no calls from the STAR labs. Maybe criminals really do take breaks. When it finally comes time for Barry to clock out, he jumps up, eager to do something fun. Maybe he could take the night off and chill. It'd been a while since he'd had time to himself. However, as he leaves his lab, he realizes he won't be getting any peace and quiet tonight.

"Barry! I was just gonna head up to see you!" A familiar face smirks at him as he descends the staircase.

"What are you doing here, Seb?" Barry sighs. It's not like he doesn't like his brother. It's just that he doesn't, well, he doesn't like his brother.

"Didn't you get the memo? I live here now." Sebastian grins.

"At the police station? Did you get arrested or something?" Barry jokes.

"Haha. No, I moved to Central City." Sebastian announces. Barry halts in his steps.

"What?"

"Honestly Barry, if I didn't know better I'd say you weren't happy to see me." Sebastian says slyly, knowing full well Barry was less than pleased.

"What? No, no, it's um, great. What made you decide to come out here?" Barry manages to ask.

"I got a job with the DA's office here." Sebastian tells him. Barry is unable to respond.

"Sebastian?" Joe finally sees them standing there and he walks over. "What are you doing here?"

"I live in Central now." Sebastian brings Joe up to speed.

"Wow. The DA's office. Congratulations!" Joe smiles, then pauses. "I thought you were going to stay in Ohio and help out in the DA's office there?"

"Nah, Dad doesn't work there anymore. He and Mom are in Europe, so I needed to land another job." Sebastian says casually, but next to him, Barry stiffens.

"Uh, why don't we get some coffee? We can all catch up." Joe suggests, seeing Barry's expression. "Bar? Can you grab my bag? I think I left it at my desk. Thanks." Then, he takes Sebastian by the arm and guides him out of the precinct. Barry nods, despite Joe having already left and slowly walks over to Joe's desk.


	2. 2

Jitters wasn't bad, Sebastian concludes. Sure, it wasn't as good as he was used to, but it'd get him through the mornings. Joe had left around an hour ago, but Sebastian had stayed for another cup of coffee and for a quiet moment alone. Central was different from Westerville and Paris.

Sebastian takes a deep breathe and sighs. He needs something stronger than coffee. With a groan, he gets up and starts the walk to his apartment. As he walks, Sebastian pulls out his phone, googling the Central City clubs. He scrolls through and makes note of the ones he's interested in.

Once Sebastian gets home, he glances around at the barren apartment. He hasn't unpacked yet, so there's stacks of boxes sitting on the floor. After shifting through a couple of them, Sebastian finally finds the one he wants and hoists it to his bedroom. Cutting through the tape, he roots through the folded clothes and pulls out a suitable outfit.

Sebastian glances at his watch. Sure, it was a little early to go out, but he is eager to get out. Eager to forget. As he slips off his shirt to change, Sebastian pauses to look at himself in the mirror. Almost as if in a daze, he watches his reflection as his fingers ghost over the bruises and barely healed cuts. Then he catches himself and quickly pulls on a shirt.

Sebastian was more than ready for a drink.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barry's phone was off. After the ninth drunken text from his brother, he'd put it on silent and gone to bed. Not that he could sleep. Why did Sebastian have come here? And why now? Barry rubs his hands over his face and sighs. It's already 5 in the morning and he hasn't slept a wink. Might as well get up. As Barry rolls over, he turns on his phone and frowns at the number of messages he's missed. 3 from Caitlin, 4 from Cisco, 2 from Joe and 15 from Sebastian. Ignoring the ones from Sebastian, Barry opens the texts from Joe.

Where are you Barry?

Are you coming?

Barry's confused. What was going on? Then he opened the messages from Cisco and Caitlin.

Barry, Cold is on Fourth and Main.

Barry, hurry up.

Dude, why aren't you answering your phone?

Quickly, Barry changed into his suit and ran out of the house towards the commotion. It wasn't hard to find the fight. The cops had set up a perimeter (dang, how long had it been going on?) and a crowd of reporters was gathered around the yellow tape. Barry zipped by and came to a halt at the bank where Cold and his team were in. He entered the bank and came to a halt when he saw them.

"What's going on here Snart? I thought we had a deal." Barry calls out, eyes watchful of the team.

"We did, and I've kept to it." Snart answers.

"Then why the hostages?" Barry gestures to the group of people gathered in the next room.

"Insurance. I don't have a deal with the police." Snart shrugs. "Don't worry, none of them will die. Unless they do something stupid."

Barry frowns. This isn't good, but what can he do? If he turns in Snart, the whole world will know his identity. But that doesn't mean he can't get the hostages out.

Once the last person is out, Barry rushes back into the bank. Unfortunately, the team of rogues is still there.

"You know," Snart addresses him again. "To be honest, I'm a little surprised to see you up and about this morning."

"What do you mean?" Barry stops, confused.

"Just that you didn't look too good last night. What, did you forget already?" Snart smirks and then Barry realizes he'd been distracting him while the rogues made their escape.

What had Snart meant by that? Barry hadn't been out last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feedback are always welcome. Thanks for reading!


	3. 3

Sebastian feels awful. Head pounding, he stumbles around his apartment looking for a change of clothing. Despite the place being empty, Sebastian manages to bump into every single box as he tries to blink away the blinding light. The events of the previous night were hazy, which was probably a good thing. Sebastian had a feeling he didn't want to know. It did leave one mystery, though. The fact that he'd gotten home to his bed with ibuprofen and a glass of water on the table meant someone had helped him. Back in Ohio, he wouldn't have been surprised. He had been friends with the employees at his favorite clubs and they'd always made sure he got home safe. Here, though. It'd been his first night in Central, so he didn't have any friends at the bars.

Sebastian sits down on his bed with a wince. He thinks one of his cuts is getting infected. Resolving to get it checked out later, Sebastian picks up his phone and scrolls through his messages. Ah, it seems that he'd texted Barry quite a few times. He quickly reads through them, making sure he hadn't revealed anything important in his drunkeness. It was probably Barry who'd gotten him home, then. Mystery solved. He sent off a quick thank you text before grabbing his keys and heading out to get some breakfast at the cafe he'd spotted yesterday.

 

After breakfast, Sebastian decides to walk around the city. He should get to know it, after all, it was his home now. Home. What a weird word. Sebastian sighs. When lunchtime rolls around, he finds himself at the precinct. An idea pops into his head and he walks inside.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barry walked to Jitters for lunch. Iris wasn't working today, so he sat and ate while looking at his phone. Rolling his eyes, Barry decided to read the texts Sebastian had sent him.

i thin im drnk

come gt m?

Ugh, they were all the same. Still, Barry feels a little bad that Seb had needed a ride and he hadn't gone to help him. Then Barry reads the last text that had arrived this morning.

Thanks for the lift, bro.

What did that mean?

 

When Barry got back after his lunch break, he finds that half the precinct is mad at him. The other half is hysterical with laughter.

"Allen! What is wrong with you today?" Captain Singh snaps from his office doorway.

"Wha-what? I'm sorry, sir. What happened?" Barry asks in surprised. He wasn't that late, was he?

"You owe half the officers here an apology. And really? I expected better." Singh swings his door shut, leaving Barry even more confused.

"Eddie? What's going on? I just got back from lunch and everyone's mad at me." Barry asks Eddie in desperation. Eddie just looks confused.

"What are you talking about, Barry? You came back from lunch 20 minutes ago? I thought you'd gone up to your lab." Eddie replies before walking away. Barry's stomach drops. He understands now. He runs (at normal speed) up to his lab to find his brother leaning back in his chair.

"Sebastian. Of course it was you." Barry sighs.

"Of course it was me? I have no idea what you mean." Sebastian replies, eyes wide with innocence. Right, totally innocent.

"Come on Seb, I'm serious. This is my job, okay? How would you like it if I stormed into the DA's office and yelled at all your coworkers, pretending to be you?" Barry throws up his hands in exasperation. Sebastian just shrugs, making Barry even more frustrated.

"Go ahead. I don't mind." Sebastian answers flippantly and Barry loses it.

"This is all just a game to you, isn't it? Moving to Central. Ruining my life. I was fine, you know! Why did you come here? I don't need you in my life! You should go back to Ohio, or Paris or wherever the hell I'm not! Go find your Mom and Dad and live your stupid, rich life!" Barry shouts.

"Oh, you really want to go there?" Sebastian challenges. "I heard you keep visiting the murderer. Does he still tell you he didn't kill her? You call my life stupid, but you're the one living with the delusions."

Downstairs on the main floor, everyone in the precinct stops working. Is that, yelling, coming from Allen's lab? And why is there a giant crashing noise? A couple of them, including Joe, Eddie and Singh head up to investigate. The spectacle before them is one none of them would have ever imagined possible. Barry and Sebastian are standing off, three feet away from each other. Both are breathing hard and Barry is sporting a bloody nose while Sebastian is holding his side.

"You know, if you hated me so much, why the hell did you pick me up last night? I don't need your pity." Sebastian spits out. The brothers seem unaware that they now have an audience.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Barry snaps. Then, in the hostile silence that follows, Joe decides it's time to step in and he clears his throat. The brothers both look up suddenly and a small gasp goes through the growing crowd of officers. Joe realizes that none of them had known Barry has a brother, much less an identical twin.


	4. 4

The tension starts to deflate as Joe walks up to put himself in between the two brothers. Barry pinches his nose to try and stem the bleeding while still glaring at Sebastian.

"Allen? Would you mind explaining what just happened?" Singh prompts.

"Captain, this is my brother, Sebastian Smythe." Barry's voice is short. A couple people raise their eyebrows at the different last name.

"Are you okay? Are you injured?" Eddie asks. Barry shakes his head.

"I'm fine." Barry replies. He heals fast, not that Eddie knows that, though.

"Seb? What about you?" Joe asks.

"He's fine." Barry answers for him, eyeing his brother as if daring him to speak.

"Um, then why is there blood on his shirt?" One of the officers points out timidly. They all swing around to stare of Sebastian who looks down, surprised, at himself. The officer is right. There's a red spot growing on the side of Sebastian's green polo shirt.

"Seb? Are you okay?" Joe asks. "Barry, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Barry protests. "I shoved him against the wall and then he hit me."

"Guys, I'm fine." Sebastian says as he backs away from the officer trying to help him.

"Seb, that's a lot of blood." Joe points out. Sebastian rolls his eyes and stubbornly refuses to be examined.

"It's nothing." Sebastian insists and he pulls his jacket around to cover the spot. His actions are futile though, as blood is now dripping down onto the floor.

"Either you're stupid enough to believe that, or you think we're stupid enough to believe that." Singh jumps in. "Let someone look at it or I'll have you arrested for assaulting a police officer."

"You're kidding me!" Sebastian exclaims. "Barry hit me first. And also, he's not even an officer!"

"Just let someone look at it, Seb. What's the big deal?" Joe says, exasperated. Sebastian doesn't answer. He only presses his lips together, as if considering.

"Fine." He gives in. Sebastian lifts the edge of his shirt so that the medic can examine his side. A couple onlookers wince, and for good reason. On Sebastian's side is a wide gash, tinged slightly green with infection. It looks as if it had scabbed over at one point, but had reopened during the scuffle.

"Seb, what did you do?" Joe sighs. Everyone looks at Sebastian expectantly, but he refuses to meet their eyes, staring instead at the wall.

"We should get to a hospital. The infection looks pretty bad." The medic pipes up. "Sir, if you'll follow me." He leads Sebastian out of the lab. Sebastian doesn't look happy about going, but he does.

"What the heck?" Barry finally speaks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thankfully, Singh doesn't spend too long yelling, and Barry is able to get back to work in no time.

"Hey, Barry. Do you mind if I ask why you and your brother have different last names?" Eddie asks curiously, if not timidly.

"I don't mind. We got separated after, well, you know. Seb got adopted by the Smythe's while I stayed with Joe." Barry explains.

"Why didn't they let you two stay together?" Eddie asks. Barry pauses before answering, trying to find the best wording.

"Considering my take on the matter, they didn't want Seb influenced." Barry says carefully.

"Oh. Sorry." Eddie realizes what he means.

"It's fine. We weren't too close anyways." Barry says, wishing it were true. Back then, it had been so simple. He and Seb were inseparable. They shared a room, they shared clothing, and it was impossible to see one without the other. Then that night. Sebastian had always been a deep sleeper and only awoke when the police officer came to fetch him.

"Barry? Can I talk to you?" Joe walks up. Eddie takes a hint and goes back to work leaving Barry and Joe alone.

"What's up?" Barry asks, but he can guess what Joe wants to talk about.

"Do you know what happened to Seb?" Joe begins.

"I don't know." Barry admits. "He seemed fine, but that cut looked bad. As much as I hate him...."

"Yeah, the hospital report said he has similar cuts and bruises all over his body. They look to be about a week and a half old." Joe says.

"So it happened before he moved here. Do you think he came to Central to run away from something?"

"Maybe. Is it really like Seb to get involved with the wrong crowd though?" Joe asks. Barry raises an eyebrow and Joe sighs. "Okay, it would be exactly like Seb to do that."

"I have a feeling we're going to have to ask him." Barry says. "But I highly doubt he'll give us a straight answer."

"True." Joe agrees.

"Allen!" Barry turns sharply to see a couple officers heading his way, followed by a civilian.

"Yeah?"

"We need you to run this. Blood left after a robbery and attempted murder." The officer hands Barry a bag and turns to the man behind him. "Don't worry, Sir. Allen's one of the best CSI's we have. We'll find who tried to kill you."

"Thank you, officer." The man replies. Then he stops suddenly and stares at Barry, a confused expression growing on his face. "Excuse me, what was your name?"

"Um, Barry. Allen." Barry is unsure how to respond.

"Oh." The man blinks. "Sorry, you just look a lot like someone I know."

"No problem. I'm gonna go, uh, run this." Barry holds up the bag and head up the stairs to his lab. That was weird.


	5. 5

The hospital released Sebastian after three hours of examinations, questioning and finally, treatment. They gave him a bunch of antibiotic stuff for the infection and told him to come back if it doesn't start getting better. As he exits the hospital, he accidentally trips on the last step. Thankfully, he's able to catch himself before he falls, but the corner of the railing whacks against his injured side and he lets out a hiss of pain.

"You alright? I didn't realized you got so banged up this morning." A voice cuts through the haze of painkillers. Sebastian turns to see a man casually leaning against a tree, looking at him.

"Can I help you? I don't think we've met." Sebastian asks. It only takes a second for him to slip into his normal facade. The self-assured smirk and easy posture switching on.

"I'm beginning to think that's true." The man answers cryptically. They stand there for a minute. Sebastian narrows his eyes.

"You know, you do look kind of familiar." Sebastian tries to recall. "I can't place it. Do you know?" The man smirks in response.

"So we have met. I guess it was you, and not Scarlet." The man looks thoughtful.

"What are you talking about?" Then it clicks and Sebastian realizes where he's seen the man before.

"You were at the bar. You were sitting next to me at that bar." Sebastian says.

"Is that all you remember?" The man asks.

"Pretty much. Why?" Sebastian suddenly goes cold. "Wait, we didn't, you know?"

"No, no. Don't worry about that." The man chuckles. "Goodness no. You were way too drunk. Besides, I thought you were someone else at the time."

"Were you the one who helped me get home?"

"Yeah. I figured it wasn't safe leaving you on your own." The man shrugged.

"Well, thanks." Sebastian is at a loss. He doesn't know what he's supposed to say.

"You new in town?" The man asks.

"Yeah, yeah. I moved here for work a couple days ago." Sebastian answers.

"Work going that badly, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asks.

"You were pretty drunk last night. I got the feeling that wasn't your first club that night." The man replies.

"Oh, no, yeah. Um, no, work's fine." Sebastian says.

"I have to get going, but if you ever have any questions about Central or need someone to show you around, give me a call." The man hands him a piece of paper with a number scrawled on it.

"Thanks." Sebastian takes it. "Um, what was your name, again?"

"Leonard Snart."

"Sebastian Smythe."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Sebastian."

"Likewise."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barry knows what Joe is planning, but he can't do anything about it. Joe has invited Sebastian over for dinner tonight and Barry knows Joe is going to force them to talk. Unfortunately, the DNA sample for the weird guy is finished early and Barry has no choice but to go home. Sebastian is already there, looking equally disgruntled. The only good surprise is that Iris is also here.

"Hey, where's Eddie?" Barry asks Iris, ignoring Sebastian's presence at the table.

"Working." Iris grimaces. It was good to have Iris here. She was always good at diffusing situations, especially when they were Sebastian related.

"Want a beer?" Joe offers, holding one up for Barry to see.

"Sure. Why not?" Barry accepts it, seeing Sebastian already nursing one. After a quick staring contest with Joe, Barry sighs and sits down on the chair across from Sebastian, who refuses to look at him.

"So...." Barry doesn't know where to start. He looks at Joe for help but Joe shrugs.

"I'm only here so you two don't go at it again." He explains.

"Then why is she here?" Sebastian finally speaks, pointing at Iris.

"I'm here to watch. I love a good drama." Iris jokes. "I'm here because none of you can cook and someone needs to make dinner." Joe and Barry roll their eyes good-naturedly, but Sebastian just looks offended.

"I trained under a three-star Michelin chef." Sebastian informs Iris.

"You can make dinner if you want." She offers, but he just glares at her. They dish out the food and Barry is relieved when Iris starts the conversation.

"So how do you like Central, so far?" She asks Sebastian.

"It's not bad." He answers uncommitedly.

"If you need help getting around, I can connect you to some friends." Iris offers.

"Thanks, but I'm good. I met someone who can help me out." Sebastian tells her.

"Who? Anyone we know?" Joe asks.

"I don't know if you know him. Leonard Snart. We met on my second night here." Sebastian keeps eating, meaning he's oblivious to the shocked looks the other three exchange.

"Okay, so, um, I think you know what we need to talk about." Barry tries to bring the conversation to a more pressing matter, though the fact that his brother had befriended Captain Cold was also a pressing matter.

"Actually I don't. You clearly have several issues with me, so please, clarify which one we're discussing." Sebastian answers snarkily.

"The fact that you're covered in recent injuries. Are you in trouble or something?" Barry asks.

"Oh, that." Sebastian chuckles. "Man, you really let your imagination run wild. Of course we already knew that." Barry knows Sebastian's baiting him, and he really wants to take it, but he takes a deep breath and ignores the jibe.

"Where'd you get them?" He asks.

"Why do you care?" Sebastian doesn't answer the question.

"What happened in Ohio? What did you do?" Barry asks. He half expects Sebastian to fly off the handle and yell at him, but instead he closes his eyes and laughs softly.

"Fine. I slept with a woman and her husband decided he didn't like me." Sebastian smirks. Barry's jaw drops.

"What the hell? Did you know she was married?" Barry asks.

"Kinda hard not to know, what with the giant rock on her finger." Sebastian laughs. The only thing keeping Barry from hitting Sebastian again was the fact he knew his brother was already injured. "Chill out, bro. Sheesh."

"I can't believe you did that." Barry looks at him in horror. Joe looks disappointed and Iris looks furious.

"You know what, I'm gonna head." Sebastian says after a long moment of silence. "Thanks for dinner." He lets himself out before anyone can react.


	6. 6

The next morning, Sebastian drops by the precinct. Barry is downstairs with a couple officers and the man who'd been attacked the previous day, so he doesn't notice Sebastian until he's walking down the stairs away from the lab.

"Hey, what were you doing up there?" Barry snaps, upon seeing Sebastian.

"Just grabbing my jacket. I left it here last time." Sebastian answers. "I noticed you still have your x-files board."

Barry stiffens. Sebastian found the board he'd put together to try and find his mom's killer. "Why were you going through my stuff?" By now, half the precinct is silent, once again watching the brothers go at it.

"I got to say, I thought you working for the police and becoming a CSI would have given you better judgement by now. Do you really still believe in fairytales?" Sebastian smirks.

"Oh, because you're one to talk about judgment. I'm not the one who slept with a married woman!" Barry spits out. Sebastian's smirk grows wider and some of the officers murmur to themselves. Sebastian is about to respond when an unfamiliar, or familiar, depending on who you ask, speaks up.

"Since when are you into women?" They all spin around to find the source of the voice. It's the man who'd been attacked. He had been sitting watching the commotion from his place by one of the officers on his case. Sebastian's eyes widen.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Barry asks. The man now looks confused.

"I'm sorry, I thought...." He looks up at Sebastian questioningly. Sebastian shakes his head slightly and a look of understanding comes onto the man's face.

"Seb. What's going on?" Barry asks. For once, Sebastian looks uneasy and he still doesn't respond.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Seb?" Barry asks again. Sebastian laughs a little. Of course this was happening.

"Hey Killer. I didn't expect to see you here of all places." Sebastian addresses the man, ignoring Barry completely. "Where's your wife?" Everyone in the precinct looks confused. How do Sebastian and this guy know each other? The man sighs and shakes his head at Sebastian.

"I thought you were still in Ohio?" The man responds.

"I thought you were in New York." Sebastian fires back before Captain Singh interrupts.

"As much as I love all the drama that Mr. Allen has brought to the office, I'd really appreciate it if it was contained. Allen, take them to your lab or something. Everyone else, get back to work." People begin dispersing and Barry reluctantly leads Sebastian and the other guy to his lab.

"Um, first of all, what's your name?" Barry asks the man.

"Blaine Anderson." The man replies.

"Okay, how do you and Sebastian know each other?"

"We met while we were in high school." Blaine answers.

"Oh, did you go to Dalton as well?" Barry asks.

"Yeah, for a bit. I, I wasn't there the same time as Sebastian though. I transferred earlier that year." Blaine explains.

"Do I have to be here for your little chit chat?" Sebastian interrupts with a bored voice. Barry and Blaine turn back to him.

"Of course. Blaine, what did you mean with that comment about Sebastian?" Barry asks, remembering why he'd been so startled.

"Um," Blaine looks at Sebastian, who's expression is stormy. "Sebastian?"

"No." Sebastian shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, but are you and Sebastian related? I'd guess that you were twins, but he never mentioned he had a brother." Blaine asks Barry.

"Yeah, we're brothers." Barry confirms. It hurts a little to hear that Sebastian had never mentioned him, but what did he expect? Plus, it's not like he'd told his friends about Sebastian.

"And he doesn't know?" Blaine turns to Sebastian. Sebastian shakes his head. "Are you going to tell him?" Head shake. "I think you should." No response.

"Tell me what?" Barry asks, but the two ignore him.

"It's not like he'll-" Blaine tries to say but Sebastian cuts him off.

"What does it even matter? How is it any of their business?" He exclaims.

"Because he and everyone else think that you slept with a married woman! Unless you did, then I'm defending you for no reason." Blaine says. Sebastian goes all stony faced again.

"Why do you think he slept with a married woman?" Blaine asks Barry, suddenly.

"Um, well, that's what he told us. We were asking about the injuries and he said her husband did it." Barry explains. Blaine closes his eyes.

"Of course. Sebastian, you're such an idiot." He takes a deep breath. "Tell him or I will."

"This isn't your business, Anderson. Stay out of it." Sebastian glares down at him. "You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me." Blaine doesn't back down. "Explain to me why you're lying to your own brother. Whom I'm mad at you for not telling me about, by the way." The two of them glaring at each other while Barry stands off to the side, confused as to what's going on.


	7. 7

Sebastian really wishes Blaine would leave. It was hard enough seeing him again, but did he have to worm his way into this conversation?

"Anderson, we need to talk. Barry, stay here." Sebastian drags Blaine out into the hall, checking first to make sure Barry couldn't hear them before speaking.

"Killer, you need to leave." He begins.

"Why doesn't your own brother know? Are you ashamed?" Blaine asks. "And this is why you lied about where you got those injuries?"

"I'm not ashamed." Sebastian says. "I just...." He trails off and lets out a deep breath.

"You're scared." Blaine realizes. Sebastian's head snaps up.

"I'm not scared. Why would I be scared?" He scoffs.

"No, you're scared. You're worried what he's going to think of you." Blaine says.

"You're high, Anderson," is Sebastian's only reply.

"It's okay to be scared. He's your brother. It's natural to be worried what he thinks of you. But you shouldn't be. He'll still love you." Blaine tries to comfort Sebastian, but Sebastian pushes him away.

"I don't care what he thinks. I don't need him to like me. He doesn't anyways. We can't stand each other."

"Maybe he doesn't like you, but he loves you. And you love him." Blaine says. "Just tell him. And you know what? If he hates you for it, you have other people here in Central. Friends." Sebastian looks away.

"What if I don't want to tell him?"

"Why not? Why bother living a lie?" Blaine points out. "Look, it's your decision. You're 24. But, if you want to do it now, I will be here next to you the entire time."

Sebastian sighs. "I can see why Hummel married you." Blaine winces, but Sebastian's too caught up in his dilemma to notice.

"I can't do this." Sebastian sighs. "Look, I moved here to get away from all this."

Blaine raises his eyebrows. "To get away from your father? Or yourself?" Sebastian doesn't answer and Blaine doesn't push him further.

"Hey, I get things are kinda weird between us, but if you ever want to talk or anything, give me a call." Blaine hands Sebastian a business card.

"Is that even allowed? I thought Hummel had you under lock and key? Or has he actually lightened up since you tied the knot?" Sebastian quips, but Blaine doesn't laugh.

"We're not married. He broke off the engagement right before the wedding. Look, I gotta go, but maybe I'll see you around." Blaine leaves quickly, scared to see Sebastian's reaction to the fact that he's single. Blaine doesn't know how he wants Sebastian to feel about it, so he rushes away.

Sebastian is rooted to where he's standing. The only thing that brings him back to reality is Barry walking out of the lab.

"What's taking you guys so long?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barry finally gets tired of waiting and walks out of the lab to find Blaine and Sebastian. When he steps out the door though, he only sees Sebastian, who looks shocked.

"What's going on? Where's Blaine?" Barry asks and Sebastian blinks.

"What?"

"Are you going to explain what's going on?" Barry asks.

"No." Sebastian says abruptly and immediately goes down the stairs to leave the precinct, ignoring the fact that every pair of eyes is watching him leave. Barry stands at the top of the stairs in utter confusion. As the door of the precinct slams shut, the eyes slowly move up to Barry and he flushes before fleeing back to his lab.

Down on the ground floor, Joe lets out a heavy sigh and walks up to the lab.

"I take it he didn't explain?" He asks Barry, who's sitting slumped in his chair.

"No. He and Blaine had a heated conversation in the hallway and then they both left." Barry responds.

"Blaine?" Joe asks, not recognizing the name.

"The guy who almost got murdered? The one who made that weird comment about Seb liking women? Apparently he and Seb met in high school?" Barry explains.

"Huh. Did you find out what his comment meant?" Joe asks.

"No. It seemed like Seb didn't want him to say anything." Barry says. They're both quiet for a minute.

"Barry?" Joe asks.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Sebastian's gay?" Joe continues hesitantly. Barry doesn't respond. "It's just, that's the only context I can come up with in which Blaine's comment makes sense."

"Why would he hide it though? And then why would he sleep with a woman?" Barry asks.

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he just doesn't want us to know how he got injured." Joe suggests. "Look, I gotta get back to work. See you at home?"

"Yeah." Barry replies, still deep in thought. He was going to figure out what was going on with Sebastian.


	8. 8

Things are not going according to plan. Sebastian runs through the past couple days in his head. Originally, his plan to move to Central City had seemed ingenius: the perfect chance to get away from everything. Now that he was here, though, he was being forced to confront it even more. Without thinking, Sebastian pulls out his phone and dials the number he'd put into his phone just a day before.

"Hello?" The call is picked up almost immediately.

"Hi, Leonard? It's Sebastian. We met the other day." Sebastian says, not really sure what he's doing. Why is he calling a guy he barely knows? Actually, now that's he's thinking about it, it makes sense. Sebastian just wants to get away from everyone who knows or has a preconceived idea of who he is.

"Of course, I remember. What's up?" Leonard replies.

"I was just wondering if your offer for a Central City guide was still on the table. I'm curious to explore the city more, but I'm not sure where to start." Sebastian explains.

"Sure. What are you interested in?" Leonard asks.

"I'm not sure." Sebastian admits.

"Well," Leonard drawls out. "I'm free at 6:00. How about we meet up at the park then and I show you around?"

"That sounds great." Sebastian agrees. "I guess I'll see you then. Thanks, a lot. For doing this, I mean."

"It's my pleasure." Leonard hangs up. And it really was. Leonard places his phone down and smirks. Tonight should be fun. A recon mission: why did this Sebastian look exactly like Barry Allen, and did he have anything worth taking. After all, the Smythes were one of the richest families in the US.

Sebastian hangs up as well and sighs. That went well. He was lucky to have found a friend so quickly in this awful city.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Barry gets home, he collapses on the couch next to Joe.

"Have you seen Sebastian?" He asks Joe.

"I was just going to ask you that." Joe shakes his head. "I hope he isn't going to do anything he'll regret. Your brother isn't one to make the wisest decisions." Barry is about to respond when he gets a call from Cisco.

"Just a minute, Joe." He answers to call. "What's up, man?"

"Barry, it's not an emergency or anything, but where are you?" Cisco asks, his voice sounding off.

"At home. Why? Do you need me to come in?" He answers, confused.

"Well, Cait and I were just doing some scans, and CCTV cameras place you with Snart at a bar in the south side." Cisco says cautiously.

"When? Just now?" Barry asks.

"Yeah. But if it's not you, then I guess we messed up. Unless it's a you from another earth." Cisco muses. "Anyways, doesn't matter. We were just worried since the guy looks a little plastered, but if you're at home I guess you're fine."

"Yeah. Thanks man." Barry says.

"No problem." Cisco hangs up and Barry grimaces.

"What's wrong?" Joe asks.

"Can I borrow your car?" Barry asks. "I need to go check on Sebastian."

"Why? Is he in trouble?" Joe asks, quickly finding his keys to give them to Barry.

"I'm not sure, but apparently he's out drinking with Snart."

"He did mention befriending him, didn't he. Drive safe." Joe says.

"Yeah." Barry nods. He walks out of the house and starts up the engine. No matter how much he disliked his brother, he wasn't about to let Snart get to him. Plus, if Snart let something slip about his identity, he didn't want to deal with the fallout.


	9. 9

Going around Central with Leonard was definitely the most fun Sebastian had had since he moved. After meeting up in the park, they'd grabbed dinner at a good Italian restaurant then they'd perused a couple bookstores and museums before they'd decided to hit some clubs.

Sebastian could hold his liquor and for once he had a drinking partner who could match him shot for shot. However, they were currently sitting in their 3rd bar of the night and he was definitely feeling the alcohol. Snart seemed unaffected so far, but Sebastian didn't know that Leonard was purposefully limiting his own alcohol intake.

"So," Leonard started as he ordered another round of drinks. "Why Central? Any city would take a young, hot-shot lawyer."

"I know right? I got so many offers from other places, but I picked Central because I was born here." Sebastian shrugs.

"Ah. When did you leave? Wouldn't you have friends here?" Leonard asks curiously.

"I moved when I was 11, so I don't really have anyone here. I mean, unless you count… never mind." Sebastian quickly knocks back another shot.

"Hmm. Any family?"

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asks.

"You haven't mentioned any family. Parents, siblings?" Leonard explains.

"My parents are in Europe. And my stupid brother's the reason I wish I'd accepted the offer from Sun City." Sebastian slurs, the alcohol hitting him hard now. Leonard raises an eyebrow. There it is: brother.

"Who's your brother? Maybe I know him?" He pries carefully.

"If you do I feel sorry for you. Barry Allen: delusional idiot. I don't understand him. I swear, it's like every time I try to reach out, he looks at me like I'm trying to con him." Sebastian reaches for another drink but Leonard stops him. Drunk is good for getting answers, but Leonard doesn't want him to overdo it.

"I think you should drink some water." He advises, but Sebastian just rolls his eyes.

"Water's no fun." He shakes his head.

"You've had enough fun for the night." Both Sebastian and Leonard turn around to see Barry standing behind them, frowning.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"What are you doing here?" Sebastian slurs at Barry.

"Taking your drunk ass home." Barry responds.

"I don't need you. I've got Len." Sebastian waves him off.

"Snart needs to go home. You shouldn't be out with him anyways. He did tell you what he does for a living, right?" Barry challenges.

"Something about acquiring property. What's your problem, Barry?" Sebastian answers while sneaking in another shot.

"Come on. We're leaving." Barry sighs.

"Your brother clearly doesn't want to go yet." Leonard smirks as Barry tries to push Sebastian out of his chair. "You could just save yourself the trouble and let me take him home. Why is that a problem?"

"Because I don't trust you." Barry says simply.

"From what I heard tonight, you don't trust anybody. Not even him." Leonard nods towards Sebastian who has passed out.

"How much did you let him drink?" Barry asks, avoiding Leonard's statement.

"I don't think it's all from the alcohol." Leonard observes. "He didn't talk too much about himself, but from what I can tell, your brother's been through a lot. And if he feels the only person he can talk to is basically a stranger, I'm guessing he's emotionally exhausted. Something to consider."

Barry is unsure how to respond to that unexpectedly deep statement. Leonard smirks and wishes them goodnight.

"Tell Sebastian to call if he ever wants to do this again sometime." He tells Barry as he leaves.

In his head, Barry resolves to somehow delete Leonard's number from his brother's phone. Unfortunately, Sebastian's eidetic memory means that probably won't do any good.

The drive back home is quiet, with Sebastian still asleep. As Barry drives, he glances over at the form of his sleeping brother. In his slouched position, Sebastian's shirt had ridden up to expose the edge of the bandage wrapped around his side. What was Sebastian hiding?

Barry pulled into the driveway of the West house. He didn't know where Sebastian's apartment was, so he just brought him here. Joe comes out to help him move Sebastian to the couch.

"He's one heavy sleeper." Joe remarks once they get Sebastian positioned on the couch.

"Some things never change." Barry mutters under his breath. Joe hears him, but doesn't comment.


	10. 10

Sebastian really has to stop doing this. His hangover mixed with waking up in a strange place did not help his pounding head. Deciding to get up, Sebastian finally gets a good look at his surroundings. Oh. He's at the West's house. Straining, Sebastian tries to think back to the previous night. He vaguely remembers Barry showing up and arguing with Leonard, but he must have passed out because he can't remember anything after that.

"You're awake." Sebastian looks over towards the kitchen to see Joe holding a pot of coffee. "You want some?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." Sebastian accepts the offer. He takes the mug that Joe hands him.

"How're you feeling?" Joe asks tentatively. They're still on uncertain ground with each other. The awkward silence between them is broken and then made more awkwards as Barry comes down the stairs.

"Oh, hey Sebastian. Joe." Barry says slowly. The three of them stand there awkwardly until Sebastian finishes his coffee in one long pull.

"Well, I best be off." He says and turns to leave.

"Wait, Seb." Joe says. Sebastian keeps walking and only pauses once he reaches the door. He rests a hand on the knob and looks back.

"What?" Sebastian's tone is not encouraging, but Joe presses forward.

"What's going on here?"

"I'm going home to change and get on with my day." Sebastian answers.

"You know what I'm talking about." Joe continues. "The injuries. And your inconsistent explanation."

"I already told you how I get hurt. Are you guys too stupid to understand, or something?" Sebastian scoffs.

"Who's Blaine? Why did he make that comment?" Joe keeps going, throwing caution to the wind. After all, who knows when he'd get another chance to ask Sebastian?

"Look, Joe. I appreciate you letting me crash here, but I don't think that means I have to answer all your ridiculous questions. You already know everything you need to know." Sebastian says. He turns the doorknob to open the door, but at Joe's next words freezes.

"Are you gay?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Joe didn't mean to just blurt that out, but it'd been on his mind since Blaine's comment. Barry looks shocked but also curious to see Sebastian's answer.

Sebastian isn't moving. The door is slightly ajar, but Sebastian makes no move to go leave. After a long moment of everyone standing frozen, Sebastian turns around.

"Where did you get that idea?" He tries to sound mocking, but Sebastian knows they can hear the slight tremor in his voice.

"Seb..." Joe takes a step forwards but pulls back when Sebastian flinches violently. Joe and Barry watch as Sebastian's face turns from one of fear, to anger and then to his carefully controlled mask, all within one second. Had either one blinked at that moment, they'd have missed it.

"I have to go home." Sebastian says and swiftly exits the house before they can stop him.

Barry and Joe stare at the door before turning to each other.

"I think you have your answer." Barry says.

"Yeah." Joe replies.

"Why do you care about if Sebastian's gay so much?" Barry asks. "I mean, I admit, I'm curious as to why he'd keep it a secret, but what does it have to do with anything?"

"Barry. You're smarter than this. If Sebastian's really gay, he wouldn't sleep with a woman, much less get beat up by a jealous husband." Joe explains. That makes Barry think.

"Why did he flinch when you moved?" Barry brings up.

"I don't know. But I think it's worth it to look into. Do you have that Blaine guy's number?" Joe asks.

"No. Why?" Barry responds.

"He might know something that'll help us understand what Sebastian's going through." Joe explains.

"The more we know about Sebastian's friends, the more we know about what happened, right?" Barry finally clues in.

"Exactly. I gotta get to work. See you later." Joe leaves the house leaving Barry to wonder at what his life has turned into.


	11. 11

Sebastian can't breathe. The minute he steps foot out of the West house he breaks into a run. He doesn't know where he's running to until he skids to a halt in front of.... Why did he come here?

He looks up at the house in front of him. The house where it'd all happened. The house where it all fell apart. He hasn't been here since that night. As Sebastian gazes up at his childhood home, he doesn't realize his eyes are wet until a woman from the next house over calls out to him.

"Excuse me? Sir? Do you need any help?" The woman asks. Sebastian shakes himself from his stupor.

"No, no. I'm fine thanks. Just, lost in my thoughts for a bit." He smiles back and she nods.

"I'm sure you heard the story about that house?" She keeps talking, much to Sebastian's annoyance.

"Yeah."

"I heard about it when I moved here. Such a tragedy." The woman looks like she's going to keep talking when another voice interrupts her.

"Erin? Pete's looking for y- oh. Hey, Seb." Blaine walks out of the house.

"Hey." Sebastian can't manage anything else. He's already overwhelmed by everything and he gets a feeling Blaine can sense it.

"Erin, Pete needs you help inside. Something about the water softener." Blaine tells the woman and she waves a cheery goodbye to Sebastian before heading inside.

"You okay, Seb?" Blaine asks. Sebastian quickly swipes the tears away from his eyes.

"I don't know." He admits. "I don't know."

Blaine hurries forwards and takes Sebastian by the hand. "Come on. Where do you live? I'll drive you home."

Sebastian nods and follows Blaine to his car. As he rattles off his address for Blaine, he glances back at the house. That's why he'd come here, Sebastian realizes. In his heart, this house is still his home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Was it worth it? Barry drums his fingers on the bar. Here he was, sitting in one of Central's seediest bars, waiting for one of Central's worst villains all so he could talk about the world's worst brother.

"Barry. What are you doing here?" Aforementioned evil villain sits down next to Barry.

"Snart, I, uh, I wanted to talk about my brother. You're his friend now, right?" Barry starts.

"You could say that." Leonard answers.

"Look, I want to know what you guys talked about last night." Barry says.

"Why don't you ask Sebastian?" Leonards challenges. Barry glowers at him, but Leonards just smirks.

"I can see why you two hit it off." Barry grumbles. "Snart, I just want to know if he said anything about his time in Ohio."

"Alright. I'll cut you a deal, Barry. Buy me a drink and I'll tell you what Sebastian said." Leonard offers.

Barry looks at him, evaluating. "Fine. What did he say?"

Snart gets the bartenders attention before answering. "He didn't talk about Ohio much. Just that he went to high school there for two years before leaving for college."

"Okay, did he talk about anything else?" Barry is desperate for information.

"Mostly about Paris." Leonard shrugs.

"Well, you've been so helpful." Barry sighs as he pulls out his wallet and slaps a couple bills on the bar.

"Thanks." Leonard drawls.

"One last thing: I don't like you hanging around Sebastian. I know I can't stop you, but if I get even the slightest sense that you're up to something, you're going to prison. And I don't care who you tell my identity to." Barry threatens.

"Awww. Is this brotherly love?" Leonard smirks again. "Sebastian has nothing to worry about, Barry. You on the other hand...." He finishes his drink and gets up. "I'll see you around."


	12. 12

Sebastian is glad when the car pulls up to his apartment building. The car ride was silent, though Sebastian knows Blaine is itching to ask him questions. Maybe Sebastian does need someone to talk to. But is Blaine Anderson really the right person? Sebastian glances over at the curly haired man who is currently attempting to perfectly parallel park. Only one way to find out.

"Do you, uh, want to come up? Have some tea or something? I'd offer you coffee, but uh, my coffee maker isn't set up yet." Sebastian offers. Blaine smiles brightly.

"Yeah, I'd love to!" They walk into the building and into Sebastian's yet to be furnished apartment.

"I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly yesterday." Blaine apologizes as Sebastian starts to heat the water. "I guess I was scared to see your reaction. I mean, no one's ever accused you of being nice to Kurt."

"It's fine. I was being rude." Sebastian shrugs. "So uh, who're you living with?"

"Oh, that was Erin. I'm staying with her and her husband while my apartment is being fixed up. You know, after the robbery. Why were you in the neighborhood?" Blaine asks.

"I um...." Sebastian knew the question was coming but still hadn't prepared for it.

"It's fine. You don't need to tell me." Blaine says, seeing Sebastian's discomfort.

"No. I need to tell someone. And I want that someone to be you." Sebastian decides.

"Why me?" Blaine is curious.

"I trust you. Plus, you know how to keep a secret."

"So this is confidential information?"

"Extremely. You tell anyone, Anderson, and you'll end up like Trent." Sebastian threatens.

"Happily married with a best selling novel?" Blaine asks, trying to make sense of the threat.

"No, before that. You know what? Nevermind. You'll regret it, is all." Sebastian rolls his eyes. They sit down on the ground, staring out the window before Sebastian starts talking.

"Do you know the story about that house, that Erin was talking about?" He begins.

"The one about the murder? Yeah. Everyone who stays in the neighborhood hears it." Blaine confirms.

"That house was.... I was born in that house. And I lived there until I was 11."

"Oh my gosh. That story is of your family." Blaine realizes. Sebastian stops him before he can ask questions.

"Just let me finish, okay? I was asleep the night that Henry killed my mom. Barry was awake and he kept claiming that Henry was innocent, that mom was killed by this, yellow lightning man. He kept insisting on it and he still is today. The city separated us because of that. He was sent to the Wests and I was adopted by my parents. Barry was so messed up they couldn't get a couple to adopt him so Joe had to take him." Sebastian pauses. "He lets his imagination run wild and Joe just sits there and watches it happen. I feel bad for Joe, honestly, dealing with that kid. I mean come on! Barry's 24. You'd think he and Joe would have grown out of it by now."

When he falls silent, Blaine puts a hand on his arm.

"Seb, are you jealous of Barry?" He asks carefully.

"That's what you got out of that?" Sebastian is incredulous, but Blaine presses his lips together.

"Henry, your biological father failed you. Whether he killed your mom or not, the reason your family was torn apart was him. Then your dad, Mr. Smythe failed you. He was supposed to love you unconditionally, but.... Well, that didn't happen. Now, you come back here to Central to see Barry have not only the love of one, but two dads. Henry and Joe. He was the one who made things difficult, the problem child, yet you were the one who got the short end of the stick." Blaine watches Sebastian's face as he talks. "It's only natural to feel jealous and a little resentful of what Barry has. You're at a point in your life where all you need is a dad, and that's one thing life refuses to give you."

Sebastian doesn't respond. Then he looks at Blaine and attempts a smile. "I'm really glad you live in Central."

"I am too." Blaine responds. "I'll get that. You stay here." He says as the kettle begins whistling. Sebastian watches as Blaine moves around his apartment, finding teabags, getting out mugs. As he watches him, Sebastian feels that familiar tug inside that he hadn't felt since... well, since last time he saw Blaine.

"Here." Blaine hands him a mug and Sebastian thanks him. They sit, watching the cars go by in the street below and as the time passes in comfortable silence, Sebastian realizes how at peace he feels. Just sitting with someone who knows every secret you have, yet who still wants to be next to you. Well, minus one secret, but Sebastian hopes Blaine will never find out that one. After all, Sebastian was supposed to be over Blaine.


	13. 13

The buzz of the door as they let Barry in echoes down the hall.

"Hey Dad." Barry greets his dad as they both pick up the phones that allows them to speak through the glass.

"Hey Bar. How've you been?" Henry Allen smiles.

"Better." Barry admits. He's not sure if he should tell his dad all this, but he didn't want to lie.

"Why's that?" Henry frowns.

"I uh," Barry hesitates.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, it's just that... Sebastian moved back to Central." Barry finally gets out. Henry doesn't react for a second. He's too stunned with the knowledge that his son, whom he hasn't seen since the boys were 11, was living in the same city as he was.

"How is he?" Henry manages to say, though his voice is thick with emotion. "What's he like?" It hurts that he has to ask what his own son is like, but it's been 13 years.

"He's annoying. Sarcastic, snarky, rude and tactless." Barry lists. He doesn't want to go into the whole weird injury thing.

"Of course." Henry bites back a smile and works hard to keep the tears from spilling down. "Are you going to bring him? On your next visit?"

Barry winces. "He still doesn't believe me, Dad. He won't listen."

"Oh. Right" Henry tries not to show the pain upon hearing his son thinks he's a murderer. "Of course."

"Dad, I'm sorry. Sebastian thinks I'm delusional and that you're...."

"A cold blooded killer who took his mother away from him?" Henry finishes and Barry stares at him. "I heard the argument. You two weren't exactly quiet while arguing outside the courtroom. It killed me when your mother died, but what tore me apart was how it cut you two off from each other."

"It's not your fault, Dad. It's Sebastian's for ever doubting you." Barry says resolutely, but Henry shakes his head.

"No. It's that man's fault. The one who killed your mother. Don't give up on Seb, Barry. He's your brother. Don't ever forget that. Promise me."

"Yeah, I promise, Dad."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Sebastian wakes up, the sun is already setting. He's surprised; he doesn't usually take naps during the day. What's even more surprising is that curled up on the ground next to him is Blaine. They must've fallen asleep while talking. Feeling Sebastian shift next to him, Blaine stirs and blinks his eyes open.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Seb. I didn't mean to fall asleep." He says, scrambling to get up. Sebastian just chuckles.

"Don't worry about it, Killer. Plus, you helped me out earlier. It's only fair I let you crash on my extremely comfortable wood floors." Sebastian sarcastically pats the cold, unforgiving panels. Blaine smiles.

"Anyways, I should head. I've bothered you enough today." He walks over to the kitchen to grab his keys that'd been lying on the counter. "You have my number. Text me anytime. About anything."

"I will." Sebastian promises and Blaine smiles again before leaving.

"I'll hold you to that." Then he's gone. Sebastian looks out the window to watch as Blaine walks to his car to drive away. Sebastian feels a strange sense of loss as the car pulls away from the curb. With a sigh, he gets up and walks to his bedroom. He strips off his shirt to check his injuries in the mirror. The ointment seems to be helping with the infection, but they still don't look very good. Sebastian runs a finger along a particularly long cut. He traces the outline of a burn and winces at the memory.

Still, the doctors had said he should be able to recover with minimal scarring. Minimal. That still meant some. Sebastian pulls his shirt back on and reaches down to check his phone. He's got two texts from Leonard and one from Barry. Not wanting to get into it with his brother, Sebastian opens the messages from Leonard first.

Last night was fun. Let me know if you want to hang again.

FYI, your brother came and asked me about our conversation last night. I didn't tell him much. You two need to talk.

Sebastian frowns at the messages. Why had Barry gone to talk to Leonard?

Thanks for letting me know. He texts back. Then he opens the text from Barry.

We need to talk. Meet me after work today at 5:00?

Sebastian glances at his watch. It's 8:21. Oh well. He sends back a quick reply.

Sorry, fell asleep and didn't see your text.

He doesn't offer to reschedule, but knowing Barry, he'll probably find a way to corner him.


	14. 14

Barry is experiencing what many would call a crisis. His brother is at the center of it, yet Barry can't get a hold of him. After Sebastian had blown him off earlier that day, Barry had gotten a half hearted apology that had to be a lie. Sebastian never took naps.

Barry sends a reply to Sebastian and then speeds off to STAR Labs. No point in waiting by the phone for a response.

"Hey, Barry." Cisco and Caitlin greet him as he walks into the cortex.

"Hey, guys. Got anything for me?" Nothing like a good old fight with a criminal to clear his head, right?

"Nope. Pretty quiet night." Cisco dashes Barry's hopes. "You doing alright, man? You seem kinda off."

"I'm fine." Barry tries to say, but Caitlin's already started on her doctor spiel.

"-maybe we should run a couple more tests? I told you not to overdo it."

"Caitlin, I'm fine." Barry says again. "Trust me, it's nothing you guys can fix." Wrong choice of words.

"What do you mean?" Cisco asks. Caitlin looks at Barry curiously as well. Barry debates for a moment but then decides to tell them. They're his friends, right?

"Remember how you called asking if I was out drinking with Snart?" He begins.

"Of course. We still haven't figured out if he's a doppelganger from another earth since facial recognition scans only register him as you." Caitlin answers.

"He's not from another earth. He's Sebastian Smythe. My twin brother." Barry drops the bomb. Both Cisco and Caitlin are wearing looks of shock.

"Man, why haven't you told us you have a brother?" Cisco finally speaks.

"It, uh, never came up." Barry shrugs. "He just moved here from Ohio."

"Ohio's not that far away." Caitlin points out.

"Well, he was in Paris before that." Barry explains.

"Still doesn't explain why he's not in your file." Cisco says. Barry frowns.

"What do you mean he's not in my file?" Barry asks. Caitlin pulls up something on the computer in response. It's Barry's profile and under family, there's no mention of a brother.

"That's weird." Barry says. "I mean, he was adopted by a different family, but he should still be listed there."

\- - - - - 

The next morning, Sebastian actually has to go in to work. He remembers that fact approximately an hour before he has to show up.

"Oh s**t!" Sebastian swears as he jumps out of bed and races to find his work clothes. He haphazardly pulls on his jacket and throws a mournful look towards his kitchen. No breakfast today. Sebastian doesn't have too much time to grieve though as he rushes out the door to catch a cab.

When he finally arrives at the building, he only has five minutes to find the right floor and get to his new boss's office. Just in time, he skids to a halt in front of a secretary.

"Hi. Sebastian Smythe. I'm the new Assistant District Attorney." He tells her.

"Of course. Tom is expecting you." She hands him several items. "Here's your keycard and ID. You need those to access the file rooms. Once you're done meeting with Tom I'll have someone show you to your office. Welcome to Central, Sebastian."

Sebastian thanks her and walks into the office.

"Ah, you must be Sebastian." A man greets him.

"Yes sir. You must be Mr. Harding." Sebastian shakes the offered hand.

"Call me Tom." Tom smiles. "Now, I hate to do this to you on your first day here, but there's a conference down in Starling. Normally we'd send someone more experienced, but considering the circumstances, you're the best candidate." Tom continues. "It's three days. All expenses are covered and all the pertinent information is included in the file on your desk."

"Oh." Sebastian is a little surprised, but maybe this'll serve as a good chance to get away from Central. "That's fine."

"Great." Tom smiles. "Everything you need should be covered, but if there's anything else you need, here." Tom hands Sebastian a company credit card. "Use this for anything even remotely related to work."

"Wow, um, thanks." Sebastian takes the card, but knows he'll probably never use it. He had plenty of money from the settlement and his prior jobs.

\- - - - -

The next day, Sebastian gets off the bus at Starling City. He'd sent Blaine a quick text letting him know he wouldn't be around, but he'd passed on texting his brother.

"Sebastian Smythe. Central City." He tells the woman at the registration desk.

"Mr. Smythe. Welcome. Here's your badge, you need this to get into the sessions. And here's your room key. Enjoy your stay!" She tells him with a smile and he thanks her.

After dropping his stuff off in his hotel room, Sebastian decides to grab dinner. As he walks into a restaurant, he accidentally crashes into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The woman apologizes.

"No problem, I wasn't looking where I was going." Sebastian says.

"No, it's probably my fault. I've been wrapped up with this conference thing for work and... I'm sorry." She rambles a bit but eventually trails off.

"It's fine. I'm in town for a conference as well." Sebastian says.

"Oh, cool. At the Marriott?" The woman asks.

"Yeah. Same conference I guess. I'm Sebastian, by the way. Sebastian Smythe. I'm with the Central City DA's office." Sebastian introduces himself.

"Laurel Lance. I'm actually from here in Starling." Laurel responds.

"Great! So you know what's actually decent to order here?" Sebastian jokes. Laurel laughs and they decide to continue talking over dinner.

\- - - - -

Sebastian hadn't been expecting to have fun, yet sitting in a room full of his peers, Sebastian felt more at home than he had in months. The first session is finishing up and Sebastian looks around for Laurel. They'd arranged to grab coffee between sessions and he finally locates her over by the entrance.

As Sebastian walks up, he realizes she's talking to another guy. When he gets to them, the guy turns and gives Sebastian a confused look.

"Oliver, this is Sebastian." Laurel makes the introductions. "Sebastian is the ADA from Central." Sebastian shakes hands with Oliver and nods cordially, but Oliver is still looking at him like he's some sort of alien.

"So, Sebastian, how long have you been working in Central?" Oliver asks him.

"Not long. This conference was actually my first assignment." Sebastian admits. "I'm sorry, have we met before? You look as if I should know you."

"No, no. You just remind me of someone." Oliver shakes his head.

"I've been told I have one of those faces." Sebastian smiles.

"That must be it." Oliver says. "Well, I'll let you two talk. I should be getting back to the office anyways." And with that he leaves.


	15. 15

"Hello?" Barry picks up his phone.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a brother?" Felicity's irate voice comes through the speaker.

"What?" Barry is surprised, to say the least.

"Oliver had me run a background check on a Sebastian Smythe. Sound familiar?"

"Wait, why was Oliver having you check Sebastian? What did he do?" Barry asks.

"Don't worry. Apparently Oliver ran into him and he was curious to see if there was a connection. And there is. And I'm mad at you for not telling me about it!" Felicity explains.

"I have a brother." Barry says.

"Yeah, well now I know." Barry can hear Felicity roll her eyes over the phone.

"How'd you find out? Sebastian's not listed in my file." Barry asks.

"I had to do a little digging. It looks like someone tried erase any connection between the two of you several years ago. There's nothing I can't find, though." Felicity proclaims proudly.

"Can you tell who tried to erase it?" Barry asks, curious.

"Let me see." The sound of typing can be heard. "It's hard to tell since it was so long ago, but the IP address is in France. There's no name, though."

France. Barry closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Thanks Felicity. It's fine."

"Okay. Well, I have to go, but I'm still shocked that you have a twin, though. And you should have told me about him!" Felicity says goodbye and they both hang up. Well, Barry, thinks. One thing came out of that call: he knew who had deleted the information from his file.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sebastian was almost sad when he found himself back in Central City. He'd enjoyed being in Starling. It was refreshing to be around likeminded people, and Laurel had been a good friend. But at the same time, it was too comfortable. Maybe Sebastian was too used to pain to live without it.

As he enters his apartment and perches on his bed, he wonders why he hasn't unpacked yet. He'd been living here for about a week, yet there was no furniture and there were boxes lying around, unopened.

Sebastian's shaken from his reverie as the doorbell rings. There weren't that many people who knew where he lived, so Sebastian figures it was either Blaine or Leonard. However, when he peers through the peephole, he discovers it's Barry.

"How did you get my address?" Sebastian says as he swings the door open.

"I looked it up in the CCPD database." Barry says unrepentantly. He looks past Sebastian into the apartment. "Homey."

Sebastian really doesn't want to deal with his brother, but Barry already knew he was home, so he stands aside to let him in. Barry seems surprised by the gesture, but walks into the apartment and hovers near the doorway.

"So?" Sebastian prompts, wondering why Barry had decided to make a house call.

"Why did you erase all connections between us online? And how?" Barry asks. Sebastian is taken aback, considering the fact that it had been years ago when this happened.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Sebastian shrugs.

"You forgot that you hacked the Central City files and erased the fact that we're related?" Barry asks skeptically.

"It was a long time ago. I was smart, angry, and had a lot of time on my hands. Never a good combination." Sebastian recalls. "My parents had bought me my first computer and I wanted to do something other than play video games."

When Barry still looks dubious, Sebastian points out, "I may not be a CSI, but I'm know my way around things. The Central City database was easy. They might as well have left a welcome mat for me."

"That's it? You had time as a kid so you deleted us from each other's records?" Barry asks.

"Why do you think there's more to it? I didn't want to be your brother and it became very clear you didn't want to be mine!" Sebastian bites out. Barry looks wounded, but Sebastian's too caught up in his own emotional turmoil to notice or care. "Are you done? I just got back from Starling and I'm tired."

"Okay." Barry's lost his energy to pursue the matter. "Okay. I'll see you at dinner tomorrow."

"What?" Sebastian gives a start.

"Your friend, Blaine, invited us both to dinner. I thought you had agreed to go. Blaine said you were quite adamant about me being there." Barry tells him.

"Of course he did." Sebastian sighs. "That meddling a******."


	16. 16

The moment Barry leaves his apartment, Sebastian calls Blaine.

"Blaine Anderson." Blaine picks up quickly.

"Anderson, you idiot." Sebastian replies.

"Hello Sebastian. I guess you heard about dinner?" Blaine asks cheerfully.

"Why the hell did you go behind my back to my brother?" Sebastian demands.

"Seb, it's just dinner. You two don't have to talk or anything. Heck, if you both want to pretend the other doesn't exist, that's fine. I can do all the talking, but you two need to start getting to know each other. And that starts with something small, like dinner."

"Why are you interfering with my family? How is this any of your business. And don't think I won't destroy you for this just because we had a brief heart to heart." Sebastian threatens.

"Okay," Blaine still sounds as if they were planning a trip to Disney world. "I'll see you tomorrow." Blaine hangs up and Sebastian is tempted to throw his phone across the room.

"That stinkin- ugh!" Sebastian settles for banging his head on the wall a couple times. Sometimes he really didn't like Blaine, but he had to admit, the thought of seeing him again made his heart jump, even if it did mean he had to spend an evening with his brother. Sebastian shakes his head. It wouldn't do any good to develop feelings for Blaine. After all, he didn't want to compromise their new friendship.

Sebastian glares down at the boxes at his feet. Why had he chosen Central City? If only he could go back in time and slap some sense into his younger self. Sun City is nice this time of year. So is Metropolis. Yet here he is, stuck in Central City. When he'd made the decision to accept the offer from Central, he hadn't realized how painful it'd be to come here.

Was it too late to get out?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To say Sebastian is dreading the dinner is probably the understatement of the year. Knowing Barry, he'll be plotting a way to interrogate him, and knowing Blaine, Barry'll have more than one opportunity.

Barry, unbeknownst to Sebastian, is also nervous, but for a different reason. Yes, he doesn't like his brother, but after this week, he's beginning to see Sebastian in a new light. He's also promised his father that he'd try, so he has to go through with this.

Blaine is getting ready in his room. He knows the consternation he's caused Sebastian but he also knows the brothers need this. His motives for this dinner aren't all innocent, he has to admit. Seeing Sebastian had rekindled dormant feelings, and now that they're both single, he's curious to see where this leads.

In the West house, Barry finishes getting ready and walks down the stairs.

"You want the car?" Joe asks him.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Barry accepts the offer. It wouldn't do any good to arouse any suspicion on Sebastian's part. Not to mention, he barely knows this Blaine guy.

"Have fun." Joe calls after him. "Remember, Sebastian won't answer any questions if you scare him off."

"Joe, I'm not leading an interrogation. It's just a dinner to help us get to each other and so I can meet his friends." Barry rolls his eyes. 

Outside Sebastian's apartment building, Blaine's car pulls up and Sebastian sits down in the passengers side.

"For the record, I hate you, Anderson," is Sebastian's only greeting.

Blaine smiles in response. "You'll the like the restaurant. It's French."

"You really think the best place for Barry and I to 'bond' is to go to a restaurant with a theme directly corresponding to our differences?" Sebastian snorts.

"No one can be grumpy over good food." Blaine says cheerfully.

"I accept the challenge." Sebastian says snarkily, but Blaine waves away the comment.


	17. 17

Sebastian and Blaine arrive at the restaurant first and Sebastian immediately excuses himself to go to the bathroom, claiming he needs to fix his hair. Blaine's fairly sure it's because he doesn't want to be here when Barry arrives, but Sebastian would never admit that.

"Hi, Blaine, right?" Barry makes it over to the table and greets Blaine.

"Yeah. You're Barry? Thank you, by the way, for helping with my case. They caught the guy who broke into my apartment." Blaine says.

"I'm glad. I mean, that's what they pay me for, right?" Barry and Blaine sit down.

"Where's Sebastian?" Barry dares to ask while he and Blaine peruse the menu.

"Bathroom." Blaine answers simply.

"Oh. I wouldn't have been surprised if he found an excuse not to come." Barry jokes halfheartedly.

"Oh, undoubtedly. We drove together, though." Blaine explains. Behind his menu, he drops a quick text to Sebastian.

Get out here or Barry and I will order without you.

"Have you eaten here before?" Barry asks Blaine.

"No, a friend recommended it." Blaine says. "I admit, I can't actually read half these items."

"That's because you have no sense of culture." Sebastian chooses to make his entrance. He settles down in the empty, third chair.

"Sebastian." Barry nods to his brother.

"Barry."

"Great! Well, now that you're here, you can help us order." Blaine interrupts the quickly growing tension. The next five minutes are spent surprisingly cordially as Sebastian goes through the menu, ridiculing the American twists and ultimately deciding what was to be ordered.

After the waitress took their orders, the three of the, sit in comfortable silence.

"So Blaine, what do you do?" Barry asks.

"I own a dance studio." Blaine answers. Barry and Sebastian are both surprised, though for slightly different reasons.

"That's so cool." Barry exclaims. "What kind of dance?"

"We offer several different dance classes. I teach along with 6 friends."

"Wow. You guys get a lot of people signing up?"

"Yeah, actually. We have to waitlist a couple dozen kids each year." Blaine says regretfully. "I keep hoping to expand, but it's not economically possible at this point."

"That's amazing." Barry says. "I was never graceful enough for dancing."

"Nonsense, anyone can dance." Blaine says. "You haven't had any good teachers if that's the attitude you have towards dancing."

Sebastian coughs loudly. "Do I have to be here while you guys flirt?"

Blaine and Barry both fall silent, one ashamed and one embarrassed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Blaine had been right, Sebastian admitted to himself. The food here was good and it was getting increasingly difficult for him to scowl at his plate. They had been at the restaurant for about an hour and Blaine was determinedly keeping the conversation civil. Well, he was really only keeping Sebastian civil, Barry was fine on that count.

"Wow," Blaine pushes away his plate. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm really full."

"I think I can manage a little more." Barry spoons more food on his plate. Blaine just smiles, but Sebastian takes note of the action. Since when does Barry eat so much?

"Sebastian?" Blaine offers Sebastian more food, but he shakes his head.

"I'm good." He declines.

"So, do you guys have any plans for the weekend?" Blaine asks.

"Not really. I'll probably just relax." Barry replies. "You?"

"I'm actually going to be at the studio. Hey, you should drop by and check it out! We're open from 9 to 7, so stop by any time." Blaine invites.

"That sounds fun. I'll see if I can make it." Barry answers.

"Seb, you should come too." Blaine includes. "After all, it's been forever since I've seen you dance. Plus, maybe you could help teach the kids a few things?"

Barry and Blaine look at Sebastian expectantly, and he wants to say yes. He wants nothing more than to spend the afternoon with Blaine, but add in inexperienced kids and his brother? No thanks.

"Sorry, I have to catch up on work." He shrugs. "Maybe another time."

"Oh, that's cool." Blaine seems a little crestfallen, but he recovers quickly. He's about to say something else but he's interrupted by his phone ringing. After glancing at the caller ID he looks apologetically to the two brothers. "I'm so sorry, I have to take this. Excuse me a moment?"

"Yeah, go ahead. We'll be fine on our own." Barry says immediately and Sebastian has to fight the urge to get up and run away as fast as he can.


	18. 18

It's getting to a point where Barry thinks he might actually suffocate from the heavy silence. He and Sebastian are sitting across the table from each other, both not talking. Sebastian is refusing to meet Barry's eye and Barry isn't sure how to breach the subject without causing a full-blown fight. Barry knows well enough that Sebastian won't care that they're in public.

"Look, Sebastian," Barry decides to be straightforwards. "We both know that no one believes you were beat up by a jealous husband. All I'm asking is for you to be honest with me. I know we're not close, we're not anywhere near close, but we're living in the same city now. It's going to be impossible to ignore each other, especially since we both work for the state."

"You want me to be honest? That's rich coming from you." Sebastian snorts.

"I don't want to get into it." Barry closes his eyes. "This has nothing to do with that."

"Doesn't it though?" Sebastian challenges. "I mean, isn't that the underlying foundation of all our differences?"

"Sebastian, I know we see what happened then differently, and I know it shaped who we became, but how could this possibly be related?" Barry asks.

Sebastian doesn't respond. Then, "Barry, you shouldn't talk about things you know nothing about."

"Help me understand." Barry says.

"Why should I?" Sebastian scoffs. "What have you done that's shown me I should trust you?"

"I'm your brother!" Barry hisses. "Shouldn't that be enough?"

"It should be." Sebastian says. "It should be, but it's not. No, the time when it was enough has long passed."

They both fall silent, pondering Sebastian's last sentence. It was true. Truer than Barry had wanted to believe; after talking with his dad, he'd held onto a small hope that maybe Sebastian wasn't unreachable.

"Hey guys, sorry about that." Blaine comes back, tucking his phone into his pocket.

"It's fine. You didn't miss much." Sebastian says icily.

"You know, it's getting late, I think I'm gonna head out." Barry stands up. "Thank you so much for inviting me, Blaine. It was great getting to know you."

"Thanks for coming." Blaine smiles.

"How much was the bill?" Barry asks. "How are we splitting?"

"Oh, no. It's on the house. My friend has connections with the owner of the restaurant." Blaine waves off Barry's offer.

"Oh, that's great. Well, um, I'm going to go. I'll maybe see you tomorrow, Blaine." Barry says goodbye, ignoring Sebastian and goes out to his car.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaine asks Sebastian as they drive to Sebastian's apartment building.

"About what?" Sebastian asks.

"The argument you clearly had with Barry while I was on the phone." Blaine rolls his eyes.

"No."

"What'd he say?" Blaine continues.

"Was your first question rhetorical?" Sebastian asks. "Because I'm pretty sure I just said I don't want to talk about it."

"I know. I just don't think it's healthy to keep these things pressed down." Blaine says simply. "So, what'd he say?"

"He wants me to tell him the truth about my injuries." Sebastian sighs, giving in.

"I take it you didn't?"

"Perceptive as ever, Anderson." It's Sebastian's turn to roll his eyes.

"Seb," Blaine glances over towards the passenger seat.

"Don't give me that tone." Sebastian groans.

"Don't act like a child." Blaine fires back. The next moment no one speaks. Blaine because he's too busy swearing at a stupid driver and Sebastian because he's too busy staring at Blaine.

"We're here." Blaine announces as he pulls up to the building.

"No kidding." Sebastian says, but there's no bite to it.

"Thanks for coming tonight." Blaine chooses to ignore Sebastian's sarcasm. "Here." He hands Sebastian a business card.

"What's this for?" Sebastian takes it, confused.

"The dance studio. In case you change your mind." Blaine answers. "I'll be there all day tomorrow and I'd love it if you came to visit."

"I have work to do." Sebastian reiterates, less conviction in his voice now, though.

"Think about it. No big deal either way." Blaine shrugs. "Have a good night."

"You too, Anderson." Sebastian chuckles. "You too."


	19. 19

Barry could be catching up on cases. Barry could be spending time getting to know Wally better. Barry could be literally saving the world. But instead, Barry is walking into a dance studio so he can get closer to solving the mystery that is his brother. Okay, Barry'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy talking to Blaine, but still, dance made Barry uncomfortable. He was too clumsy as a child and had been made fun of for any attempt at dancing.

"Barry! You made it!" Blaine sees him and waves him over.

"Yeah. I hope now's not a bad time?" Barry says.

"No, not at all. We just finished a class." Blaine gestures to the group of kids finding their parents and vice versa. "Want a tour? I've got about 20 minutes before the next class starts."

"Sure." Barry agrees.

Blaine shows Barry around the studio, which is a lot bigger than Barry had expected.

"Well, what do you think?" Blaine asks.

"This is incredible." Barry says. "I'm impressed. You own this whole thing?"

"Yep. We started out a lot smaller." Blaine explains.

"Still...." Barry laughs. "This is pretty amazing for only a few years of being in Central."

"Thanks." Blaine glances at his watch. "If you want, you can stick around for the next class. It's a co-taught one, so I won't be too busy."

"That'd be cool. What kind of class is it?"

"Second-Intermediate hip hop." Blaine answers. "The ages range all over the place, so it's a fun class."

Kids start arriving and stretching as Blaine and the other teacher get set up. Barry watches in amazement as the class organizes and begins warming up together. The steps they start out with are simple, but it's mesmerizing. As the class progresses, the group breaks up into individual practice and Blaine and the other teacher walk among the kids, correcting their form and giving pointers.

"Well? What do you think?" Blaine asks Barry as he nods in approval to a one of the students nearby.

"This is cool." Barry admits. "You weren't kidding when you said there were a lot of different aged kids here."

"They all started at different ages." Blaine explains. "You know, it's never too late to start."

"Yeah, no, I don't the kind of balance or rhythm for dancing." Barry laughs.

"For once, I think we agree on something." A voice from the doorway calls out.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sebastian stares at the mountain of files on his desk. He's only finished a third of them and he wants to keel over and die. His eyes land on the counter on the far end of the room. More specifically the small rectangle of paper that lies there. Blaine's card. Maybe a break wouldn't be so bad.

Carefully sorting the files into an organized pile, Sebastian gets up and grabs the card. The address listed isn't far from his apartment, meaning he could walk and didn't have to call a taxi. He really has to get a car. Deciding that he'll make it a quick visit, Sebastian grabs his keys and heads out the door.

It's a beautiful day out and Sebastian makes it to the studio in under ten minutes. His improving mood is immediately halted as he enters the studio and instantly hears his brother's voice. It seems Barry and Blaine are talking about Barry's lack of grace.

"For once, I think we agree on something." Sebastian chimes in, smirking. Blaine turns excitedly.

"Seb, you made it!" Blaine grins at him.

"No wonder you got valedictorian." Sebastian jokes and walks over to them.

"Sebastian. I didn't think you'd be here." Barry says hesitantly.

"Well, I am." Sebastian replies.

"This is great!" Blaine goes on, ignoring the brothers. "Seb, d'you want to help me demonstrate the next step?"

"Killer, I came here for a break from work. Not to teach a group of slobbery toddlers." Sebastian says in disgust.

"Seb, the youngest age here is eight." Blaine rolls his eyes. "Come on. When's the last time you actually danced?"

"You danced?" Barry asks. "I didn't know that."

"Please. There's a lot you don't know." Sebastian scoffs.

"Come on, Seb. I hate doing demonstrations alone." Blaine asks again. Sebastian looks at him, then at the kids, then at Barry, and then he looks back at Blaine. Blaine is giving him some sort of wide eyed puppy dog look that is basically impossible to say no to.

"Fine. One quick demonstration." He gives in.

"Awesome. Come on, let's get it figured out." Blaine takes Sebastian's coat and hands it to Barry then leads Sebastian by the arm to the front of the room where they talk briefly about how it'll go.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barry watches in amusement as the other teacher calls the kids attention back to the front. He's curious to see Sebastian dance. Sure, Sebastian had been the athletic one of the two when they were younger, but that had never extended to dancing.

"Today, we have a special guest to help us." The teacher gushes. "Let's all welcome Sebastian." The kids give Sebastian some applause before quieting down.

"First, Sebastian and I will demonstrate how it works, then we'll break it down step by step." Blaine explains. "Ready?"

He and Sebastian look at each other for a moment, silently communicating. Then, the teacher starts the music and Barry's jaw drops.

Sebastian and Blaine move together, almost like they've danced with each other before, but it's not their synchronicity that Barry's in awe of. Sebastian moves effortlessly, spinning and moving as if it comes more naturally than breathing. Barry continues watching his brother and he notices something different with Sebastian's face: he's smiling. Not a sarcastic or mean smile, but a genuine grin, as if he can't help but enjoy himself. Barry can't remember the last time he saw Sebastian that happy. But then it's over. Blaine and Sebastian come to a halt and Sebastian's face slips back into his usual unreadable expression.

"Thank you, Sebastian." Blaine claps and the kids follow suit. "Alright. Let's break it down." As Blaine leads the group in the step by step version, Sebastian walks back over to Barry.

"Wow," is all Barry manages to say. "You can dance."

"A certified genius." Sebastian rolls his eyes. "I'm sure your observational skills are held in high esteem at the CCPD." He takes his coat back from Barry, but Barry holds onto it, knowing he'll most likely leave the moment he has it.

"Sebastian, I wanted apologize." Barry says. Sebastian raises an eyebrow but lets him continue. "I shouldn't have pushed you to tell me last night. I do want you to tell me, but since you clearly don't want to, I should respect that and stop asking you."

"Great. Now can I have my jacket?" Sebastian kind of accepts the apology.

"Look, when I said it'd be impossible to ignore each other, I was telling the truth. What I'm proposing is we make a deal." Barry suggests. "I want us to get to know each other. We don't have to become super close, but I want us to give us a try."

"Barry Allen, are you asking me out?" Sebastian says with a mock gasp.

"Sebastian, I'm serious." Barry tries again. "I'll tell Joe to back off. And I won't use every time we're alone together as a chance to press you for answers. I'm not promising I won't try to solve it on my own, but I won't ask you questions. In exchange, I want you and I try and become friends."


	20. 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a filler chapter. It's going to get interesting real soon, I promise. :)

Sebastian looks at Barry. He seems sincere, but Sebastian is still wary.

"I'll think about it." He answers. It's not what Barry wants to hear, but it's not an outright no.

"Okay. Call me sometime. Or I'll call you." Barry says, and finally relinquishes Sebastian's jacket.

"Whatever." Sebastian turns his attention back to Blaine, who's just finishing up the step by step explanation.

Sebastian sticks around until the class is over. As the kids are in various stages of leaving, Blaine walks over to Sebastian.

"Thanks for doing that." Blaine says again. "The kids loved you."

"It's fine." Sebastian shrugs. "Oh, Barry had to go. He said to tell you he really enjoyed visiting and he hopes you guys can get together again some time soon."

"That's nice of him." Blaine replies.

"Why dancing?" Sebastian suddenly asks. "I always thought you liked the singing aspect more than the dancing, not the other way around, like me."

"I did." Blaine admits. "But I don't know if you've noticed, but it's hard to make it big with singing. I do a bit of songwriting on the side, but this takes up a lot of my time. Plus, I love the kids and I love dancing."

"Hm." Sebastian says. "I should probably head out. Grab some lunch."

"Yeah. Same." Blaine says. "I'm done with classes for today. The afternoon ones are ballet, so I let Richard, Alli and Mia handle those."

"Do you want to go together?" Sebastian suggests on a whim. "You could show me some of the songs you've written."

"Sure." Blaine agrees. "Let me go change and I'll meet you back here in ten?"

"Sounds good." Sebastian says. He watches as Blaine walks away. Wow, so that just happened.

"Sebastian, right?" A man walks up to him.

"Yeah."

"I'm Blake. I just wanted to say that your demo with Blaine was really good. Are you a dancer?" The man introduces himself.

"No, I'm actually the Central's new Assistant District Attorney." Sebastian shakes his head. "I did dance in high school, though."

"Wow. An ADA who can dance. That's gotta be a step up from the last one." Blake jokes. "Anyways, I just wanted to say nice job and congrats."

"Congrats, what for?" Sebastian asks.

"You're the first person Blaine's ever demo'd with." Blake winks. "And Blaine usually spends his lunch in his office, crunching numbers."

"Huh." Sebastian responds.

"Ready to go?" Blaine is done getting ready.

"Yeah. Let's go." Sebastian says, ignoring Blake's pointed look. "Where do you want to eat?"

"There's a nice deli around the corner." Blaine suggests.

"Great." They walk out of the studio.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"This is nice." Sebastian comments awkwardly. He and Blaine had eaten lunch and now they were in Blaine's apartment so Blaine could drop off some stuff before going back to work.

"Thanks. Lyra helped me with the decorating." Blaine calls from a room he'd disappeared into. While he's waiting for Blaine, Sebastian walks around the living room. In the corner is a well worn piano with piles of sheet music and blank pages on it. Curious, Sebastian reads one of the pages. It's titled Patience, the notes are all hand written.

"Did you write this?" Sebastian calls.

"Huh?" Blaine pokes his head out and Sebastian holds it up. "Yeah, that's one of them."

"This is really good." Sebastian mutters under his breath as he reads through it, occasionally playing a section of it on the piano.

"Do you want to see some other ones." Blaine asks when he finally finishes whatever he had been doing.

"Sure." Sebastian says. Blaine walks out and comes back into the room carrying a cardboard box with several different binders in them.

"They're categorized by year." Blaine explains. They sit down and go through some of the songs, Blaine showing Sebastian his favorites.

"What about that one?" Sebastian points to the binder in the very back. The one that Blaine hadn't touched. Sebastian reaches out and grabs it.

"Oh, that's nothing." Blaine says uncomfortably, but Sebastian's already opened it. The first thing he reads on the cover page is the year range.

"You wrote these in high school." He states quietly. Blaine nods. "Is it alright if I look at them?"

Blaine pauses, unsure. "I don't know. I, I was in a rough spot when I wrote some of those."

"That's okay. I get it." Sebastian closes it softly.

"Thank you." Blaine says quietly.

"You don't need to thank me." Sebastian responds. They sit for a moment, looking at each other. Then Blaine clears his throat.

"I should get back to work."

"Right." Sebastian helps him put the music away and then they leave the apartment.


	21. 21

Two weeks pass before Sebastian decides to contact Barry. And then, it's only because he has to go down the CCPD to talk to their captain about a case. When he walks through the doors of the precinct, he immediately feels eyes on him. Some of them might be mistaking him for Barry, but considering the fact that Barry is standing approximately 20 feet away, it's unlikely. No, it's much more likely they remember the fight he and Barry had had.

"Sebastian, what are you doing here." Barry asks.

"I'm here to see Captain Singh." Sebastian tells him. "Do you know where he is?"

"I'm right here." Singh walks out of his office. "Mr. Smythe. What are you doing here? I have officers who have work that needs to be done. We don't have time for theatrics."

Sebastian is feeling a little uncomfortable. Everyone in the precinct is staring at him and Singh's tone is not friendly, but Sebastian pushes through, ever the professional.

"I'm actually here to go over some details of the Russel case with you. I'm the ADA." He explains, holding up the file folder he's holding. Several of the officers look confused. No one besides Barry and Joe had known Sebastian is a lawyer. Sebastian laughs a bit inside his head. They probably had assumed he was a college dropout or something.

"Oh." Singh is slightly surprised. "Right, come into my office."

"Thank you." Sebastian says pointedly. He walks across the room to get to Singh's office, passing by many agape spectators. Sebastian bites back the urge to make a sarcastic remark about it and reminds himself that he is currently representing the Central City DA's office and must remain professional, no matter how much the CCPD fails at it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When he's done with his extremely awkward talk with Singh, Sebastian decides to take a walk. As he leaves the precinct, Sebastian notices he's gotten a text from Blaine.

Sorry, I can't do lunch today.

He and Blaine had been going out for together every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday since that first lunch. Sebastian decides to call and make sure he's okay.

"Seb, I'm sorry, I can't really talk right now." Blaine answers.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay." Sebastian says.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I uh, got an unexpected guest. We can still do lunch tomorrow, but I can't leave him hanging." Blaine explains. Sebastian's about to be gracious about it and hang up like a good friend, but then he hears a high pitched voice in the background that makes his blood boil.

"I'll be right there!" Blaine calls to the person. Then he goes back to Sebastian. "Please tell me you didn't hear that."

"You're blowing me off for Hummel?" Sebastian bursts out. So much for being a good friend.

"Seb, you don't understand." Blaine pleads. "He came to talk to me. Apparently he broke up with his boyfriend and he needed someone to talk to."

"Translation: he finally realized what an idiot he was for breaking up with you and decided to come crawling back." Sebastian bites out.

"Seb, you know I don't feel that way about Kurt anymore." Blaine placates. "I'll be fine."

"I know," Sebastian sighs, trying to calm down. "I just don't want him to hurt you again," he admits.

"You are possibly the sweetest friend I could ever have." Blaine melts over the phone.

"Don't go around ruining my reputation! Sheesh." Sebastian responds goodnaturedly.

"Kay, I gotta go. Remember, don't worry about me." Blaine hangs up.

Sebastian stares at his phone. Then he swears. "Sebastian Smythe, welcome to the friendzone." He says under his breath. Sebastian's clenching his fist around his phone so tightly it hurts, but part of him likes it because he can imagine it's Hummel's neck. He needs to get a grip on his feelings for Blaine. Especially since he still has work to do.

Sebastian makes his way back to his car and climbs in, ready for the drive to Iron Heights. After talking with Singh, there were questions he had for the defendant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Talking with the defendant hadn't gotten Sebastian anywhere. He shakes his head as he walks out of the place where he'd met with Russel. Then, as he's tucking away his file into his bag, he hears a voice calling to him.

"You're here early this week." The guard says cheerfully.

"What?" Sebastian asks.

"You're a day earlier than normal, but that's fine. I'll have them get him." The guard leads a confused Sebastian through more doors and past guards. They enter a room with a large glass panel dividing the room in two. On both sides are chairs and phones to allow communication from side to the other.

On the other side of the glass, a door opens and a guard leads a man out. Sebastian freezes, his heart pounding and his throat closing.

"Barry!" Henry Allen greets him, completely unaware that he's seeing his other son for the first time in 13 years. Sebastian forces himself to move. Quickly, he decides to keep up the ruse and not tell them he's not Barry.

"Hey," Sebastian fakes a smile, but cannot bring himself to call the man in front of him dad. He doesn't have a dad. He's not looking for a dad. Especially not in the man sitting in front of him.

"You alright, slugger? You look tired." Henry says with concern.

"I'm fine. Just a lot of work, is all." Sebastian says.

"Ah, it gets busy saving all those people, huh?" Henry smiles. Sebastian lets out a small chuckle. After all, that's what Barry would do, right?

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a bit down." Henry asks. "Is it because of Sebastian?"

Well, this is news. Barry must've told Henry he was in town. Good to know.

"No, actually. Just personal stuff." Sebastian decides to be honest. It's not like Henry knew it was him.

"Girl trouble?" Henry asks.

"Um..." Sebastian pauses. Should he lie and say yes? Or should he get his answer? The answer to the question he'd been asking himself ever since he first had found out himself. What would Henry think about him being gay? Sebastian makes his decision. If Henry reacts badly, well, it wouldn't be anything new.

"Actually, it's um, guy problems." Sebastian says nervously, watching Henry closely. Henry doesn't visibly react.

"That's new. Who is it?" Henry says, completely unfazed.

"You're not surprised it's a guy?" Sebastian blinks.

"Barry, you came out to me years ago, remember?" Henry lets out a slight laugh. "I mean sure, this is the first time you've talked about a guy, but I still remember."

"Yeah." Sebastian replies hesitantly. "You're okay with the fact that I'm into guys?"

"Barry, we've been over this. I love you no matter what. " Henry reassures, not knowing the turmoil he's causing in Sebastian. "So, tell me about him. What's going on?" Henry prompts.

"Uh, well, his name's Blaine." Sebastian begins. This is unfamiliar territory. He's never talked openly about his relationships with anyone. "He's my age and we've known each other for a while. We're friends."

"Sounds familiar." Henry smiles. "Keep going."

"Well," Sebastian continues, realizing he's been needing to talk about this. "He had to cancel our lunch today because his ex boyfriend, who hates me, came to visit. I felt really mad about it, but I can't tell Blaine not to talk to him. We're just friends and they're, well, they've been closer than I will ever be with Blaine."

"That's hard." Henry considers Sebastian's words. "I think you need to talk to Blaine. Don't come on too strong, but let him know that his ex makes you uncomfortable. There's not much else you can do. Remember, communication is important, in any relationship, friendship or otherwise."

Sebastian nods. He needs to get out of here. Tears are threatening to spill and he doesn't want Henry realizing he's not Barry. Well, he knows Henry will figure it out eventually, but he doesn't want to be here when he does.

"Uh, thanks. I have to go back to work, but it was um, good... good seeing you." Sebastian stands up.

"Yeah, I'll let you go. I love you, Barry." Henry smiles. Sebastian nods again and rushes out of the room. He throws his visitor's badge at the counter and runs out to the safety of his car. The minute he slams the door behind him, the sobs break loose and he's crying uncontrollably.


	22. 22

Sebastian manages to make it back to his apartment without getting into an accident. The minute he stumbles into his apartment, he collapses on his bed. It hurt. Sebastian feels like something is stabbing him, tearing him into a million pieces. He's drowning in the pain. Then the doorbell rings. He can't answer it.

"Sebastian? Are you there?" Blaine's voice floats through the wooden door.

"Go away, Anderson." Sebastian calls, striving to sound normal and not as if he'd been crying. It doesn't work though.

"Sebastian. Let me in." Blaine answers softly. Sebastian doesn't want to, but he gets up and unlocks the door before fleeing back to his room. Blaine carefully opens the door and steps inside. He walks through the apartment until he finds Sebastian, curled up on his bed.

"Seb, what's wrong?" Blaine asks, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"Why are you here?" Sebastian asks, ignoring the question.

"You didn't respond to any of my texts so I wanted to make sure you were okay, but I have a feeling that this isn't about Kurt." Blaine explains. "Come on, sit up." He pulls Sebastian into a sitting position. "What's going on?"

Sebastian swallows hard. "I saw Henry today. I went there to talk to the defendant in a case and a guard thought I was Barry and I...."

"Oh, Seb." Blaine puts an arm around his shoulders. "DId he recognize you?"

"He thought I was Barry." Sebastian shakes his head. "I didn't tell him."

"Seb." Blaine sighs. "What'd you talk about?"

"I told him I was gay." Sebastian admits.

"He thinks Barry is gay now?" Blaine asks.

"Actually, apparently Barry's bi." Sebastian shrugs. "But, he..."

"What did he say?" Blaine asks finally.

"He..." Sebastian can feel the tears coming again.

"It's okay to let it out." Blaine hugs Sebastian.

"He told he loved me no matter what." Sebastian says as the tears fall again. "But he thought I was Barry."

"Seb," Blaine rubs a hand on his back. "It doesn't matter that you're not Barry. You know now."

"No." Sebastian says angrily, but doesn't move to change their position. "No, Henry is evil. He murdered my mom."

Blaine nods. "I know. I know." They sit like that for a while, Blaine holding Sebastian as he cries. Blaine knows Sebastian can't articulate it, but he's confused and hurt. The man who he'd pictured as the living devil had done what his adopted father, the role model and saint, had failed to do: Accept him for who he was. And more than that, if Henry was the one who accepted him, what did that make Sebastian?

"I'm sorry." Sebastian finally stops crying and sits up straight. "I'm sorry. You didn't need that."

"Sebastian, I'm not sorry." Blaine says. "I will always be here when you need me to be." But Sebastian catches the way Blaine glances at his watch

"Need to get back to your girlfriend?" Sebastian says passive aggressively.

"No, I just wanted to see what time it is." Blaine says. "You really don't like him, do you?"

"Nope." Sebastian confirms.

"He doesn't like you either." Blaine acknowledges. "That's why he left."

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asks.

"We were talking and I mentioned you were in town and he sort of freaked out." Blaine grimaces at the memory.

"Full on tantrum?" Sebastian snorts.

"No, only half. Well, until I told him-" Blaine cuts himself off.

"Told him what?" Sebastian asks.

"How I felt about you." Blaine voice is so quiet Sebastian almost doesn't catch it. But he does.

"How you feel about me?" Sebastian feels hope rising in his chest.

"Yeah." Blaine ducks his head nervously.

"And how exactly do you feel about me?" Sebastian asks, leaning closer to Blaine. Blaine moistens his lips, stalling slightly.

"Blaine?"

"I guess it's not really a secret anymore." Blaine lets out a nervous laugh. "I like you, Seb. I'm pretty sure I have since high school. I mean, there's a reason Kurt always felt threatened by you. It's because no matter how long we're apart, I can't stop thinking about you." He confesses.

Sebastian can feel a smile slowly spreading across his face. "You like me."

"Yeah." Blaine confirms, biting his lip in anticipation of Sebastian's response.

Sebastian just shakes his head, his smile still growing. "You like me."

"Seb, you're a broken record." Blaine says, feeling less and less anxious. He could tell Sebastian felt the same and smiled back.

"Can I kiss you?" Sebastian asks quietly, and Blaine quickly nods.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Hey Barry. You look a lot better. D'you get some sleep?" Henry greets his son.

"Uh, yeah. Why, did I look tired last week?" Barry asks.

"Yesterday? When you came in to visit?" Henry reminds him.

"I didn't visit yesterday." Barry says. They both pause.

"Then who...?" The realization dawns on Henry. "Oh my god."

"What?" Barry asks, not quite getting it.

"Sebastian." Henry looks like someone punched him in the stomach. "Sebastian came to see me and the whole time I thought it was you."

"That doesn't make sense. Why would Sebastian visit you and let you think it was me?" Barry asks.

"I don't know, but I thought something was off. He couldn't quite look me in the eye and he never called me dad." Henry recalls. "I thought you were just having a bad day, but.... I can't believe I didn't realize it."

Henry and Barry stare at each other for a second, both trying to understand what had happened.

"What did he say to you?" Barry asks.

"It was kind of personal." Henry says. "Sebastian shared some relationship troubles."

"That's weird." Barry comments. "I thought Sebastian hated talking about that kind of stuff."

"He didn't seem happy." Henry says. "God, I wish I could go back to yesterday. What does he think of me if I can't even recognize my own son?"

"Dad, it's not your fault. Sebastian should have said something." Barry says.

"Thirteen years, Barry. He's the same age as you are, but he looks so much more worn out by life." Henry goes on as if he hadn't heard Barry.

"Dad?" Barry tries to snap Henry out of his reverie. "Are you okay?"

"No." Henry answers, then asks. "Sebastian still believes I'm a murderer, huh?"

"He came to visit you. That's a start." Barry tries to comfort him.

"No, he doesn't believe me. And he won't. Sebastian's too logical for that." Henry shakes his head.

"He'll know you're innocent when I catch Thawne." Barry says firmly. Henry smiles.

"Barry, next time you see Sebastian, tell him I love him. I said it yesterday, but he knew I thought it was you. I want him to know I love him as him." Henry asks.

"Of course." Barry nods.


	23. 23

When Sebastian wakes up, Blaine's gone, in his place a folded piece of paper. Sebastian picks it up and unfolds it.

Sebastian,

Sorry for sneaking out, but I have to go to work. I got your landlord to lock the door, so no, if burglars broke into your apartment, it wasn't my fault. I hope you feel better and I'll see you at lunch.

Blaine

Sebastian shakes his head as he rereads the note. So typical of Blaine. Leave a note when a simple text would do. Sebastian glances at his watch, surprised he managed to sleep through the night, despite going to bed so early. Wait a minute.... Sebastian looks at the note again. Had to go to work. That meant Blaine had stayed the night. Sebastian smiles.

Ding!

Sebastian looks across the room at his phone as it lights up with a notification of a new text. Sighing, Sebastian gently sets down Blaine's note and gets up to check his phone. It's a text from Barry.

Hey, do you want to grab coffee sometime today?

Sebastian hesitates. The honest answer is no. Especially since Barry probably wants to talk to him about his visit to Iron Heights. But, he had promised he'd consider trying. Plus, it was already 10, so if he met his brother now, he could always use the excuse of meeting Blaine for lunch to get away.

Sure. Morning works best for me.

The reply is almost instant.

Great. Jitters in 10 minutes?

Sebastian rolls his eyes. Seriously, the way Barry talks, one would think Jitters is the only place to get coffee in Central.

'Kay

Sebastian sends the text and clicks his phone screen off. He walks over to the mirror and looks at his reflection with disgust. He hates sleeping in his normal clothes and his hair is a mess. Ten minutes is enough time though. As Sebastian gets ready, he pauses to examine his scars. They were healed now, but several of them would never fade, the cuts had been too deep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sebastian was late to Jitters, but he still manages to beat Barry, who comes walking in through the door five minutes later.

"Hey." Barry greets him. Sebastian gives him a nod in return. "Have you ordered yet?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm still standing in line." Sebastian answers, voice as sincere as he can get it. Barry rolls his eyes. They stand side by side in the line, silent until they get to the counter.

"I'll have one flash." Barry orders. The barista, who happens to be Iris, chuckles as if that's an inside joke and then turns to Sebastian.

"Black coffee. What do you have in terms of alcohol?" Sebastian asks.

"Well, we don't usually serve alcohol until after lunchtime." Iris tells him. "But if you want I can add a shot of brandy or whiskey."

"Cognac?" Sebastian knows that a cafe like Jitters probably doesn't store Courvoisier, but he's feeling homesick.

"No, sorry." Iris shakes her head.

"I'll take the whiskey." Sebastian decides.

"Anything else?" She nods, typing in the order. The two brothers shake their heads and pay.

"Really? Alcohol this early?" Barry asks Sebastian as they find a table to wait for their coffees.

"It's never too early for alcohol." Sebastian says. "Besides, it's not like this place is going to have anything strong enough to affect me. So, why did you want to get together?"

"Do I have to have a reason?" Barry asks.

"Yes." Sebastian replies. "No one does anything without a motive."

"Maybe I just want to try and get to know you. I did say I want us to connect." Barry points out.

"But?" Sebastian prompts.

"Fine. I went to visit dad this morning." Barry says.

"Good for you." Sebastian replies casually.

"He told me that you went to visit him yesterday." Barry continues, studying Sebastian carefully to catch his reaction. Sebastian doesn't visibly react, after all, he's not surprised. He knew this was why Barry wanted to talk to him. Sebastian's saved from having to answer immediately since their names are called and they have to grab their drinks. Barry looks skeptically at Sebastian's mug and winces at Sebastian's smile of satisfaction.

They sit back down at the table. "Correction." Sebastian says suddenly. Barry looks up, confused.

"What?"

"I didn't go to visit Henry yesterday." Sebastian elaborates, ignoring Barry's sigh at his refusal to call Henry his dad. "I went to Iron Heights to talk to Russel about the case. However, one of the guards thought I was you and all but shoved me into a room where they brought Henry out."

"Oh," Barry looks a little crestfallen.

"What were you hoping for? That I went sobbing to his arms as the violin music soared in the background?" Sebastian scoffs.

"No, just that maybe you decided to grow up and actually listen to his side of the story." Barry takes Sebastian's words at face value.

"Right, I'm the one who needs to grow up." Sebastian says as he takes a sip of his coffee. Barry doesn't respond, though he tightens his hand around his mug. Since neither one escalates the conversation, the tension quickly dies as no one speaks.

"Well, that's improvement." Barry comments. "We made it through a conversation without someone storming out."

"The night's still young." Sebastian jokes, though half-serious.

"Nope. This is progress." Barry insists cheerfully, taking a leaf out of Blaine's book. Sebastian rolls his eyes, but doesn't contradict him again.


	24. 24

A couple weeks later....

Barry collapses in the cortex, still shaking with adrenaline and emotion. Seeing the video of Thawne confessing to killing his mom was... unexpected. But in a good way. His dad would finally be released from prison. Sebastian would finally believe them. Life could be the way it was supposed to be. Except that it wouldn't. Sebastian had finally settled in in Central. He no longer antagonized Barry on sight and turned out to be really good at his job, working in sync with the CCPD. But he still doesn't want to talk about their dad, and despite the concrete evidence of the video, Barry knows Sebastian won't believe it.

"Barry? Are you okay?" Caitlin asks him.

"Yeah, just a lot to process." Barry responds.

"Go home. We'll call you if anything comes up." She urges. "Get some rest."

"No, I want to get this to the CCPD." Barry shakes his head. "I need to get this to the CCPD."

"Okay." Caitlin agrees. "Do you want someone to go with you?"

"Sure." Barry says. They copy the file over to a drive and speed over to the precinct. Then, Barry quickly finds Joe.

"Joe, you need to see this." Barry says.

"What is it?" Joe asks. Barry nods to Caitlin, who plays the video. Officers around the office slow down as they walk by and stop to watch. The video comes to an end and Barry turns to Joe hopefully.

"It's enough, right?" He asks. "To get him out?"

Joe opens his mouth to respond, but he's interrupted.

"No." They all turn to see where the voice had come from.

"Sebastian. He's innocent. Tha-Wells confessed freely. How is that not enough?" Barry gestures to the video.

"A confession of a mad man. You think a convicted killer will be released because your former mentor suddenly admits to committing the crime? That's ridiculous, and frankly childish." Sebastian scoffs.

"Sebastian, there's evidence. There's a confession. You're a lawyer. What more could we possibly need?" Barry asks.

"Do you know why I became a lawyer?" Sebastian asks.

"Because your dad was one. We know." Barry rolls his eyes. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"No. I became a lawyer so that I could help put away murderers and other criminals. Put them away and keep them away. So when I tell you what you have is not enough, believe me, it's not." Sebastian continues. Barry's about to argue, when the full weight of what Sebastian just said hits.

"You'd fight it." Barry doesn't say it as an accusation. Just a statement.

"Yes. Yes I would." Sebastian doesn't try to deny it.

"Why?" Barry whispers.

"Because he's a murderer. He killed mom. And he will pay the price. In full." Sebastian says harshly. Then he turns and walks out, presumably going back to the DA's office. Barry ignores the pitying looks of shock from the officers and turns to Joe and Caitlin.

"Barry, we can still use this to get him out." Caitlin says, and Joe nods in agreement.

"Sebastian's conviction rate is 94%. He knows what he's doing." Barry says flatly.

"We have a strong case." Joe reminds Barry, but Barry's not really paying attention.

"I knew it'd be hard for him to believe it, but why is he doing this? I thought Sebastian had...." Barry closes his eyes.

"Don't give up, Barry." Joe encourages. "Henry's innocent. We will convince others that the tape is genuine."


	25. 25

The day has arrived. As Sebastian steps into the courtroom, he's instantly in his element. It's a small gathering; just him and his team, Barry and his team, and the judge. Oh, and Henry. Sebastian makes the mistake of glancing over at Henry and suddenly he's no longer a successful, experienced ADA, but a scared, confused 11-year-old, waiting to hear if his dad is a murderer. But the momentary weakness passes, and Sebastian is himself again. He slips a hand in his pocket where Blaine usually leaves a note, but then remembers they aren't on speaking terms. Well, not technically. Officially, they haven't broken up, but Blaine thinks he shouldn't be fighting the turnover of Henry's conviction, and the wounds from fight they'd had are still fresh. He thinks back to the argument.

_"You're fighting against your own interest!" Blaine says in exasperation._

_"How? I'm doing the one thing I've wanted to do for 13 years." Sebastian argues._

_"Seb, he's your dad."_

_"No he's not!" Sebastian slams his hand on the table. "He is not my dad and he never will be again. He f****** lost that job."_

_"See? See how much you're already blinding yourself? Barry's found evidence that would make anyone believe that Henry's innocent but you're so stuck in your one-sided story that you won't see it." Blaine yells._

_"You actually believe that crap? I thought you were done living fantasies. One would think you'd learned that after Hummel." Sebastian knows instantly he's screwed up. Blaine goes pale._

_"This conversation is over. Don't bother calling me after." Blaine's voice is scarily quiet and calm._

"Sebastian?" One of his aides snaps him out of it. "You ready?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" And with a carefully fixed smirk on his face, Sebastian puts Blaine out of his mind and gets to work.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As each side presents their evidence, Barry can feel the hopefulness draining out of him. He'd seen Sebastian in action before, but never had he seen him so invested in a case.

 

Sebastian stands before the judge, pressing each point in his carefully outlined case, but his mind is miles away. Heck, maybe even lightyears. He's never felt so detached from a case. Sure, this is probably the only case he's been on that he's personally connected to, but for some reason he doesn't feel present. It's almost as if he's floating somewhere above his body, watching the proceedings.

 

Barry tries not to listen as Sebastian surgically tears their evidence to shreds. His brother's eyes are bright, not only doing what he does best, but doing it to the people he wants to hurt the most. It's cruel, but somehow fitting. In the past few weeks that Sebastian's been peacefully living in Central, Barry couldn't help but feel uneasy, as if it were the calm before the storm.

 

Finally, the judge calls for a recess for lunch, and both sides turn to leave. Sebastian doesn't look at Barry as he leaves the room, pausing only to mutter something to his aide. He checks his phone, hoping for a message from Blaine, but as he predicts, there's nothing there. Sebastian swallows hard. He can't believe he lost him again.

 

Barry doesn't want to eat lunch, but knows he should. He decides to drop by a nearby cafe to grab some food. When he walks through the door he hears someone call out his name.

"Barry?"

"Hey." Barry responds awkwardly. "How've you been, Blaine?"

"Okay. I, uh, I'm surprised to see you here." Blaine replies.

"We're on a break." Barry answers Blaine's unspoken question. "I'm surprised Sebastian didn't let you know."

"We haven't... spoken in a while." Blaine says carefully, not really surprised that Barry didn't know.

"Oh. Sorry." Barry looks to the side. Both men stand there, not really sure how to get out of the conversation.

"Well, I should probably go." Blaine says quickly.

"Yeah, uh, it was nice seeing you." Barry responds.

"You too." Blaine says and walks out of the cafe. Barry watches as he disappears into the crowd, wondering if he'd made a mistake. Sebastian's case was airtight. What if the only way to help his dad was not to go after the evidence, but the man presenting the evidence? Then the thought passes and Barry feels ashamed. No matter how desperate he is to win, he won't stoop to using Blaine against Sebastian.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sebastian doesn't want to step back into the courtroom. Throughout his entire life, Sebastian had always felt safe in a courtroom. It was a place where people were as they were. No lies, no secrets. Just justice. As a kid, whenever he'd felt sad or scared or mad or anything, he'd run down to the courthouse and sit in one of the rows. It didn't matter what case was going on, just being there had calmed him. Heck, he'd even been comforted when he'd stood opposite his father in the courtroom in Westerville, trading arguments. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to go back to this one.

He can't place why, just that every bone in his body is screaming for him to get as far away as he can from it. He even goes so far as to wish he didn't have to go. But, fortunately, Sebastian had practice with keeping composure. So, when his watch told him he had five minutes left, he stood up, straightened his suit, and walked back towards the courthouse. He doesn't make it.

Almost as if someone had heard his wish, two blocks from the courthouse, something hard hits his head, and Sebastian falls unconscious.

 

 

Barry glances at the clock again. It's been 2 minutes since their recess was over, but Sebastian still wasn't back. The judge isn't happy and Sebastian's aide is getting flustered.

"What's going on, Barry?" Joe whispers to him.

"I don't know." Barry whispers back. Joe's about to respond when he's interrupted by his cell phone.

"Excuse me." Joe takes the call. "Hello? I see. Uh huh. I'm on my way."

"Who was it?" Barry asks.

"The precinct. A man reported seeing someone get kidnapped."

"Do you need me to come?"

"Nah, you stay here. Be with your dad. I got it." Joe says.

"Are you sure?"

"Mr. Ganson. Where is Mr. Smythe?" The judge suddenly speaks up.

"Um... He said he was going to be back ten minutes ago." The aide stutters nervously.

"If Mr. Smythe is not here within five minutes, I will be forced to dismiss the motion to block the release of Henry Allen." The judge announces. Sebastian's aide looks panicked while Barry feels a wave of relief. Then confusion. There's no way Sebastian would miss a trial, much less this one.


	26. 26

His cell phone rings. Barry jumps to answer it, earning a sound glare from the judge.

"Hello?" He asks quietly, walking to the back of the room.

"Barry. We got a message from a new meta. You might want to get down here." Caitlin's voice comes through over the line.

"Now? I'm kinda busy." Barry protests.

"Is Sebastian there?" Caitlin asks.

"What? What does Sebastian have to do with this?" Barry's confused.

"Is Sebastian in the courtroom right now?" She presses.

"No."

"Then you need to get here right now. A meta has Sebastian and he thinks it's you." Caitlin hangs up.

"This is bad." Barry mutters, looking at the phone in his hand. If he leaves and saves Sebastian, the judge will reschedule the hearing and his dad won't ever get out. But he can't leave Sebastian to a meta. Especially when said meta thinks Sebastian is the flash. It was Sebastian or his father. Barry looks over at his dad, who is calmly waiting for the hearing to continue.

"I'm sorry." He whispers, then Barry walks out of the courtroom and runs to STAR Labs.

 

"Take a look at this." Caitlin doesn't bother greeting him as he enters the cortex. "We received this about a minute ago." Barry watches the video and feels his blood run cold. In the video, the masked meta reveals an unconscious Sebastian and threatens to reveal the flash's identity if STAR Labs doesn't release all the metas in the pipeline.

"What do I do?" Barry says.

"Well, we're trying to track this guy's location, but he's good. It might take a while." Cisco tells him. "We'll find him."

"I know." Barry says, staring at the screen, paused on his brother. "But will it be in time?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first thing Sebastian notices when he wakes up is that his handcuffs are glowing. Except for a cracked, frosted window in the opposite end of the room, they're the only source of light he has.

"Hello?" Sebastian calls out. There's no response, save the echo of his own voice.

"Is anyone there?" He tries again, but still, there's nothing. Sebastian gives up and looks down at his binds again. His wrists are in the strange, glowing handcuffs and his feet are tied in a thick looking rope.

"Okay, Seb, focus." He mutters to himself and he begins working on the knot keeping him from getting up and walking out of here. It's a complicated knot, but Sebastian manages to loosen it a bit, just enough to slip one ankle out.

"Going somewhere?" A voice startles Sebastian and he falls onto his side. A figure emerges from the side of the room and approaches Sebastian. Sebastian can't see the man's face.

"Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" Sebastian demands to know.

"Oh yes, that righteous anger." The man chuckles darkly. "I've been looking forwards to meeting you."

"I can't say I share the sentiment." Sebastian responds, while inwardly wondering how this man knows him. Maybe he's connected to some of the people he's prosecuted. It wouldn't be the first time someone threatened him. Then again, those had never gone past a couple threatening letters. This whole kidnapping thing was new. "Why am I here?"

"Don't worry. You won't be here long. Just long enough for your friends at STAR Labs to get the message." The man answers. That was weird. Sebastian keeps his face calm, but is thrown. What does STAR Labs have to do with him?

"I'm afraid you have the wrong person." He decides to say. "I'm not associated with STAR Labs."

"Nice try. I've had the place under surveillance for weeks. I've seen you running in and out." The man tells him.

"Excuse me?"

"It's cute that you think you can keep up the facade." The man laughs again. "Flash."

It's clear the man is expecting some sort of reaction after calling Sebastian the flash, but all Sebastian does is laugh.

"You think I'm the flash? Oh, that's the funniest thing I've heard all week." Sebastian snorts.

"I have to give it to you, you're quite the actor. However, I know the truth." With these words, a file folder lands on the ground in front of Sebastian. He picks it up and gasps upon opening it. Inside are photos of the flash. The first one is of the flash exiting STAR Labs, except the camera slowed the footage down enough to see the flash's face. It's the next one, though, that makes Sebastian feel faint. It's a picture from inside the CCPD. There're two people in the frame. Joe West and his brother. Except Barry looks slightly blurred, as if he was moving quickly. As if he were vibrating.

"If your friends do not comply with my demands, I will reveal your identity and kill the flash." The man continues, completely unaware of Sebastian's shock.

_Barry is the flash._  Sebastian is unable to get the words out of his head. _How the hell did this happen? Why didn't I know about this?_ Then he realizes it. _This man thinks I'm Barry. He thinks I'm the flash. This is not good._


	27. 27

"Any luck, Cisco?" Barry asks.

"You asking doesn't make me work faster, you know." Cisco grumbles.

"What if we called Felicity?" Caitlin suggests. Cisco looks wounded, but agrees. About five minutes later they have an address. Barry changes into his suit and races over there.

When he gets outside the building, Barry pauses, Oliver's training resurfacing. He has no idea what this meta can do, so he needs to be careful, especially since Sebastian could get caught in the crossfire.

"Hey guys? Can you get a read on who's inside?" Barry asks.

"Thermal sensors show two people." Cisco replies over the coms.

"Do we have any idea of what this guy can do?" Barry asks.

"No, but we managed to get into the surveillance cameras. You might want to hurry." Cisco says. "Sebastian looks like he's holding out, but I don't know how long he can keep it up."

"Right. What direction is he facing?" Barry says.

"Go through the west entrance. You should be able to catch him off guard. Remember, he's a meta. Be careful." Cisco warns.

"Right." Barry speeds into the building. He comes to a halt behind some stacked crates and listens, hoping for a clue as to the meta's powers.

"Look, I can give you what you want, but you need give me something too." Barry hears Sebastian's voice.

"The lives of you and your friends aren't enough?" The meta responds. In his mind, Barry prays that Sebastian won't use some sort of snarky comeback. If he can just communicate to Sebastian to keep the meta distracted. Carefully, Barry pokes his head out from behind a crate.  Sebastian is sitting, tied to a chair. He can tell the minute Sebastian sees him. Sebastian's eyes widen slightly, but the meta doesn't notice. Barry motions slightly to signify 'keep him talking', but for some reason Sebastian's eyes go hard and he subtly shakes his head.

Barry rolls his eyes. Sebastian's probably just being difficult. Barry scans the room and gets ready to make his move.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Look, I can give you what you want, but you have to give me something too." Sebastian says. He doesn't really expect his kidnapper to give in to any requests, but he says it anyway. Any tactic to keep him alive a little longer. Plus, if he got him talking, maybe he could get some information out of him.

"The lives of you and your friends aren't enough?" The meta responds. Sebastian wants to sigh. Really? How unoriginal. But before he can respond with a snippy comment, he spies a red figure across the room. The Flash, otherwise known as his idiot brother. Sebastian ignores in the fact that his brother is dressed in a skintight, bright red outfit (which looks absolutely ridiculous) and takes a quick moment to marvel at his own ignorance. Now that he knew, Sebastian thought it was rather obvious that Barry was the Flash. Same build, same height, same stupid need to save everyone in his path. But the real kicker was how the mask revealed a pair of bright green eyes. Only two people had eyes like that.

Then Barry makes some sort of motion, shaking Sebastian from his reverie. He looks as if he wants Sebastian to keep him talking while he figures out what to do. Sebastian wants to laugh, morbidly, of course. He'd read the Flash cases and based off his brother's track record, Sebastian probably wouldn't make it out alive.

Sebastian tries to shake his head at Barry, but Barry looks as if he's going to ignore him. Sebastian turns his attention back to the meta, now with a specific goal in mind.

"You know, I could just flash away from here. The only reason I'm not is because I can help you." Sebastian says confidently, knowing that Barry can hear him.

"Your cuffs are power dampening. And the minute your body weight leaves that chair, the whole place blows. Also, the sensors around the room can pick up on any speed faster than a normal human's capability and trigger the bombs." The meta points out.

"So what, you're willing to die in order to kill me?" Sebastian snorts.

"I have my ways of survival." The meta laughs. Sebastian doesn't answer. He only hopes Barry heard that and came to the same conclusions he did.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Okay, Barry thinks. That explains the head shaking. He has to stop his plan when he hears the meta tell Sebastian about the explosives. The meta's powers must be the thing he's relying on to keep himself safe from the bomb, Barry muses.

"Cisco?" Barry whispers. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, we're working on it. From the cameras, it looks like the weight sensor is directly hooked up to the the trigger. The meta isn't lying about not having much time." Cisco answers.

"So how do I stop him without blowing up this entire building?" Barry asks.

"Just a minute. Got it! The bombs don't have a remote trigger, so the only way it'll explode is if Sebastian moves. If you can neutralize the meta without going near Sebastian, you might have a chance." Cisco says.

"Alright. But I can't use my speed." Barry replies. He scans the room, hoping to find something that could help him. There. He spots a metal beam that'd been loosened from it's position in the ceiling. He'd have to shift it so it would be over the meta, but it would do the trick. Barry runs, at normal speed, to the wall. Now, how can he get up there? He spots an old ladder lying on the other side of the warehouse. It didn't look very stable, but it would have to do. Barry sneaks along the wall, wondering if he would be able to make it to the ladder without getting spotted. He could and he had to. Barry pauses and steals a quick glance at Sebastian and the meta. Sebastian seems to be engaging the meta in a sharp dialogue, pulling from his experience as a lawyer. He's fine for now.

Barry's within two feet of the ladder when things start going wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, I know this chapter isn't very good. I don't have much experience with actiony type things, but I promise we're getting to some good stuff soon. Thanks for sticking with me so far!


	28. 28

Sebastian could have told Barry his plan would fail the minute he thought of it. Barry is so obvious in his bright red suit and he clearly had no idea how to 'sneak'. Sebastian is honestly surprised that his kidnapper hasn't spotted him yet. It's probably because he's too busy trading bad guy banter with Sebastian. What an amateur.

"Look, we both know you're going to kill me once they release the metas anyways." Sebastian rolls his eyes. "But I didn't realize you were doing it via talking me to death."

"You think you're so powerful, huh Flash?" The man sneers. "I've captured you and stripped you of your powers and all it took was a blow to the head."

"You're totally right. Any random person off the street could capture me. You're not special." Sebastian shrugs.

The meta is about to respond when suddenly a crash echoes throughout the building. The meta's head snaps up and he spins around, eyes landing on Barry. Sebastian can see the meta's brain churning as he processes the fact that he has two flashes on his hands.

"Who the hell are you?" The meta demands.

"I was just going to ask you that." Barry deflects. "Minus the hell part, though. Let him go."

The meta scoffs in response. "Why should I do that? I only need one of you." He pulls out a gun and aims it at Sebastian.

"Great going." Sebastian rolls his eyes at his brother.

"You don't have to do this." Barry begins, stretching out a hand. "Let me help yo-"

But Barry's interrupted by a stream of ice blasting the gun out of the meta's hand and freezing him to the ground. All three of them turn their heads towards the entrance. Too distracted with each other, they had failed to notice the newest arrival to the warehouse.

"Well, well, well." Leonard drawls. "What do we have here?"

"Snart." Barry sighs. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving the both of you, apparently." He smirks.

"Wait, you're Captain Cold?" Sebastian stares at Leonard, then laughs. "Oh my god, this makes so much sense."

"Good to see you again." Leonard nods.

"Yeah, same." Sebastian replies. "Hey, do either of you know how to disarm a bomb?"

"Where is it?" Leonard asks.

"Under the chair." Barry says. He thinks for a moment then says, "I'm going to take this guy to the CCPD. Snart, get him out of there but neither of you leave. We need to talk."

Sebastian struggles not to laugh as he watches Barry pick up the meta and stagger to the door before racing off. Leonard walks over and starts working on the bomb.

"Well that explains the tension at the bar." Sebastian comments. Leonard grunts in response.

"I mean, that must hurt. Having a crush on a supervillain. Especially someone who's supposed to be your archnemesis." Sebastian continues. Leonards stills.

"What do you mean? You were drunk." He starts moving again.

"Come on, even in my inebriated state, the amount of sexual tension in the place was stifling." Sebastian snorts.

"I hate to disappointing your matchmaking urges, but neither of us are interested in each other." Leonard huffs as he starts picking through the bomb's wiring.

"I find that hard to believe." Sebastian likes to push people. "You're both single, both hot, and both gay, bi, or whatever."

Leonard emerges from under the chair to throw Sebastian a skeptical look, but he doesn't deny anything. Then Barry comes back in.

"You're not done yet?" He asks.

"Not everything can be rushed, Flash." Leonard says. "Some things require patience."

Barry and Sebastian wait as Leonards finishes.

"There. You can get up now." Leonard finally announces. Sebastian tentatively stands and lets out a small sigh of relief when the bomb doesn't go off.

"Thanks." He nods to Leonard.

"Alright. We need to get some things straight." Barry leads them outside the warehouse. "Let's go to STAR Labs to talk."

"That's on the other side of the city," Sebastian points out. "It'll take forever to get there."

"Not so _fast_?" Barry grins. "Come on." He grabs Sebastian and Leonard. "Hold on."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They come to a halt in the cortex and Sebastian stumbles over to the wall, reaching out for balance.

"Geez, Barry." He groans. Barry looks smug. He quickly speeds out of his suit and into normal clothes as Cisco and Caitlin walk in.

"You made it... hi." Cisco realized Barry didn't come back alone. "Why is Cold here?"

"We needed to talk." Barry explains.

"Actually, before we get to whatever you want to talk about, how about you give me an explanation of what's going on." Sebastian interrupts.

"Wow. He's definitely not you." Caitlin comments to Barry looking Sebastian up and down. "You may look alike, but...."

"Yeah. We're different. Get over it. Barry, explain." Sebastian says curtly.

"Fine. Short explanation. The particle accelerator exploded, I got hit with lightning, boom. Powers." Barry abbreviates the story as short as he can.

"Huh." Sebastian seems to be taking this awfully well.

"Why am I here?" Leonards raises his hand.

"How did you track my suit?" Barry asks.

"Trade secret." Leonard shrugs.

"Seriously? You can't answer one simple question? Why were you following me anyways?" Barry rolls his eyes.

"Maybe I was just in the neighborhood." Leonards offers. Barry's about to respond, but he stops when he hears an exaggerated sigh from Sebastian.

"No, please. Don't stop because of me." Sebastian sighs with a simper on his face. He presses his hands over his heart and blinks his eyes rapidly. "You two are so cute."

Barry and Leonard stare at him incredulously and no one speaks for a minute. Then, Cisco suddenly speaks up.

"So I'm not the only one!" He exclaims, drawing attention to himself.

"What do you mean?" Barry asks.

"Come on, the way you two interact everytime Cold runs a heist." Cisco shakes his head. "I can't believe Sebastian was the first to point out that you're flirting."

Barry thinks back to his previous encounters with Leonard and blushes, looking away. "This is ridiculous you guys, come on. We're not flirting, right Snart?" He turns to Leonard for support, but apparently he'd snuck out.

"I think that's your answer." Caitlin raises an eyebrow. Barry opens and shuts his mouth, wordlessly. He speeds over to the door, but then seems to think better of it.

"I'll talk to him later." He decides.

"Wait, what was that?" Sebastian suddenly asks, pointing towards Barry's eyes.

"Oh, that happens when he gets excited or something." Caitlin answers.

"But that's impossible...." The blood drains from Sebastian's face. "I assume you've run tests on Barry?"

"Of course." Caitlin answers hesitantly.

"I need to see all the results. The actual results, not whatever conclusions you've already drawn." Sebastian demands.

"Umm...." Caitlin turns towards Barry.

"It's fine." Barry nods.

"Alright, come with me. I'll make you a copy." She leads Sebastian out of the cortex.

"Wow." Cisco walks over to stand next to Barry. "So that's your brother."

"Yeah." Barry shakes his head. "That's Sebastian."


	29. 29

Barry sticks around at STAR Labs a little later than usual tonight. When he finally hangs up the suit for the final time that night, he doesn't feel like going home. Barry can't get Cisco's words out of his head. Was Snart really flirting with him? And why did that idea make Barry so happy?

Before he knows it, Barry finds himself at the doorstep of a small apartment. He knocks on the door. At first there's no answer. Then it opens a crack.

"What are you doing here?" Leonard asks.

"I wanted to talk to you." Barry answers.

"How'd you find me?" Leonard keeps the door almost shut.

"I've known the location of this place for a while now." Barry shrugs. "Look, can I come in?"

Leonard looks hesitant, but after a couple moments he opens the door wider and steps aside to let Barry in. Barry walks into the apartment nervously, not quite knowing what he's doing.

"Have we been flirting?" Barry blurts out. He immediately winces. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just come out and say it, but I guess I'm curious."

Leonard lets out a small laugh. "Do you think we've been flirting?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have much experience when it comes to... well, a lot." Barry admits.

"I can see that." Leonard smirks.

"So...." Barry is unsure.

"Why are you here, Scarlet?" Leonard asks.

"I just told you." Barry responds.

"That one question required an in person visit? You could've called." Leonard says.

"Okay, fine. I guess I, well, I...." Barry trails off again, unable to commit to what he wanted to say.

"Spit it out, I don't have all day." Leonard drawls.

"IkindawantedittobeflirtingbecauseIlikeyou." Barry says quickly and under his breath.

"Scarlet, I know you're fast, but the rest of us mortals go at a slower pace. Mind running that by me again?" Leonard responds.

"I um, well, I wouldn't be upset if you were flirting with me." Barry mumbles and ducks his head, a blush blooming.

Whatever Leonard had been expecting, it hadn't been that. His face slips for a minute and had Barry been looking up, he'd have seen Leonard's jaw drop. He recovers quickly, though, and is able to regain his ability to speak.

"What do you want, Barry?" Leonard asks carefully.

"What do you mean?" Barry raises his head and looks him in the eye nervously.

"Okay, so you feel attracted to me. I'd be lying if I didn't feel the same about you, but what do you want?" Leonard explains.

"I, I don't know." Barry bites the inside of his cheek. He lets his eyes travel from Leonard's eyes, dropping just a little ways down his face, landing on his lips.

"Yes you do." Leonard smirks, watching Barry's gaze.

Barry snaps his eyes back up to Leonard's. Then he steps forwards. He's already thrown caution to the wind, Barry reasons. Why not go all the way?

"Would you stop me if I kissed you?" Barry asks hesitantly.

"Why don't you find out?" Leonard challenges, stepping closer as well.

Barry reaches up to caress Leonard's cheek as their faces get nearer.

"This isn't going to end well." Leonard warns softly. Barry just smiles and pulls him in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some Coldflash for those of you who were patiently awaiting it.


	30. 30

The next morning, Barry finds himself at work on time. He draws some surprised/amused looks from his coworkers but ignores them, heading straight to Joe's desk.

"Hey Barry, you're on time." Joe seems surprised as well, then suspicious. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I just woke up early, is all." Barry shrugs. He doesn't tell Joe the truth: that he hadn't slept at all, he'd been lying awake all night reliving his post-kiss conversation with Leonard.

"I just wanted to let you know that Sebastian knows I'm the Flash." He drops his voice.

"Oh, did you tell him?" Joe asks. "I thought you didn't want him to know."

"I didn't. He figured it out because the meta that kidnapped him thought he was me." Barry explains.

"How's he taking it?" Joe asks.

"I don't know. He seemed oddly calm, but then he was also adamant about getting my test results from Caitlin. After that he went home and I haven't heard anything since." Barry answers.

"He's probably working." Joe says. "We can talk to him on Tuesday."

"Tuesday?" Barry asks.

"I thought you knew? The judge is giving Sebastian till Tuesday to recover and then they're reconvening the trial." Joe tells Barry. The news sends a chill down Barry's back. In all the commotion of yesterday, he'd forgotten all about the trial. About his dad.

"I didn't know." Barry responds.

"Are you okay, Bar?" Joe looks worried.

"I'm fine." Barry waves a hand. "I mean, we knew it was coming."

"Yeah," Joe doesn't seem convinced. "Okay, I'll let you get to work. Unless there was anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"No, that's it." Barry is so caught up in thinking about his dad, he doesn't notice Joe's tone. The tone meaning he knows something. "I'm gonna head up to my lab."

"Okay. Hey, Barry."

"Yeah, Joe?"

"We'll figure out the trial. We'll free your dad." Joe promises.

"Thanks." Barry smiles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barry's working in his lab when he gets the call from the attorney.

"Barry Allen." He answers the phone.

"Hey Barry, it's Dave. I just got a call from the judge. It looks like Smythe is withdrawing his file to block your dad's release." His dad's attorney gets straight to the point.

"Wait, so you mean-" Barry can feel his heart speeding up.

"He's free. Henry Allen is being released from prison in approximately one hour. They started processing the paperwork earlier this morning." Dave tells him.

"Oh my gosh. Thank you for telling me." Barry manages to say.

"No problem. Good luck you guys." With that, he hangs up. Barry stares at the phone. Then he's unable to contain it and he flashes around the room for a few minutes.

"Oh my god." He starts breathing hard. "It's real. Joe!" Barry runs (at normal speed) down the stairs and rushes to find Joe.

"What is it, Bar?" Joe asks, looking up from his desk.

"He's out. He's free." Barry pants.

"What do you mean?" Joe stands up.

"Sebastian withdrew. He's free." Barry presses his hands to his face. "I can't believe this is actually happening."

"This is amazing!" Joe smiles, pulling Barry into a hug.

"I have to go pick him up." Barry realizes. "Do you think Singh'll let me go?"

"You're not likely to get work done if I don't, are you?" A dry voice comes from the doorway of Singh's office.

"I'm sorry, sir." Barry says.

"Go, Allen." Captain Singh rolls his eyes. "Of course. The one day you show up on time."

"Thank you!" Barry wastes no time in leaving the precinct.

By the time he's made the drive up to Iron Heights, he's calmed down. There, he waits outside the prison, pacing around the outside of the car.

"Barry?" Barry spins around at the sound of a voice.

"Dad!" He rushes forwards into Henry's arms. "This is real."

"You did it, son. You got me out." Henry smiles down at him. Barry finally pulls away.

"Wow. Sorry, I just... it's really good to see you." Barry takes a deep breath.

"What do you say we get out of here?" Henry suggests, gesturing to the prison behind him.

"Yeah. Let's get back to the house. Once they get back from work, Joe, Iris, you, and me are going out to celebrate." Barry grins.

"Lead the way." Henry laughs.


	31. 31

"This is every test we've ever run on Barry." Caitlin hands Sebastian a thumb drive. "Now, this information is important. You can't show anyone this data."

"Got it." Sebastian takes the drive.

"Alright. Do you want a tour of the facility?" Caitlin offers, curious to get to know Barry's brother a bit more.

"No, I'm good. If you could just show me the way out." Sebastian doesn't want to spend another minute in this lab. He needs to get home and start going through the data. Not to mention treat the bump on his head where the meta had hit.

"This way." Caitlin leads him to the exit.

"Great." Sebastian walks out without another word. He heads over to the courthouse to get his car.

Once he arrives at his apartment, Sebastian can feel the weight of the day's events begin to hit him. Not yet, he tells himself. There's still work to be done. Sebastian sits down at his desk and pulls out his laptop.

"Time to see what you got." He mutters as he inserts the drive.

 

Ten hours later finds Sebastian in exactly the same position, hunched over his computer. It's the middle of the night and he's been staring at the screen ever since he got home. He's gone through the data twice. He's researched all the Flash's involvements with cases. Heck, he even accessed the CCPD's case files for good measure. And then he'd gone back, examining all the accounts and reports of that night, thirteen years ago. It couldn't be.

Sebastian drops his head into his hands. "No, no, no, no, no." He chants, willing it not to be true. Because here, sitting in front of him, is all the evidence, logic, and research that proves Henry Allen is innocent. Sebastian grips his hair, trying to ground himself in something. Something to stop his world from sliding out completely from under him. Blaine would've been able to help, but he'd messed that up too. Sebastian had ruined everything, and now he has nothing. Even things he'd accepted as truths were turning on their head.

How could Henry be innocent? Sebastian glances at the reports in front of him, but he knows they'll only tell him the same things they've been telling him all night. Everything he'd ever known, everything he'd built his life on, was false.

Sebastian knows what he has to do next. He pulls up the email window and types out his message, every key harder and harder to press down.


	32. 32

"What do you say we go get a couple drinks?" Iris suggests. The rest of the group agrees and they walk out of the restaurant. Barry, Iris, Joe and Henry are out celebrating Henry's return. Barry looks around him as they walk to a nearby club. He can't remember the last time his heart had felt so full.

When they get to the club they find a table near the bar while Barry and Iris go to get drinks.

"So," Iris begins as they wait for the bartender to fill their order.

"So?" Barry asks.

"Dad says you got home pretty late last night." She prompts.

"I was pretty busy with Flash stuff. Why?" Barry lies carefully.

"Because I stopped by STAR Labs last night to see how you were doing after the meta today, but Cisco said you'd already left." She responds.

"Do we have to do this now?" Barry asks. "I promise, I will explain everything, but now doesn't seem like the right time."

"Okay." Iris nods. They take the drinks back to their table.

"A toast." Barry lifts his glass. "To Henry Allen. A free man."

"Cheers." They all lift their glasses in agreement.

It's a good night. They sit at the club talking, laughing and telling Henry stories. Barry's about to rehash the time when he and Iris broke into Joe's beer as teens, when Henry suddenly stiffens.

"What is it?" Barry asks.

"Is that?" Henry swallows hard and they turn to follow his gaze to the bar. Another person had stumbled in, clearly already drunk and was knocking back a couple shots, oblivious to his surrounding.

"I thought he had stopped doing that?" Joe asks Barry.

"Doing what?" Henry asks, though his eyes never leave the man at the bar.

"Going out and drinking until he passes out." Barry sighs. "He did it the first several nights he was here."

"I...." Henry seems to be at a loss for words.

"I'll take care of this." Barry says. He gets up and walks over to the bar.

"Hey, you alright?" Barry asks.

"What are you doing here? Here to gloat?" Sebastian slurs loudly at him. Barry glances back at the table, knowing they're close enough to hear everything.

"No. We just came out for a few drinks. Are you okay?" Barry responds.

"I don't need your help." Sebastian spits, motioning for the bartender to refill his glass again.

"How many bars have you been to tonight?" Barry asks.

"I dunno. Lost count." Sebastian shrugs. "Why do you care?"

"Because you're my brother." Barry answers.

"Hmm." Sebastian just drinks more.

"You should go home." Barry says. "You're completely wasted."

"Not enough." Sebastian says, reaching for another drink. "I want to be so plastered, seeing your face doesn't bother me."

"You know we have the same face, right?" Barry frowns.

"You've put me off mirrors." Sebastian's speech is getting really hard to understand, but Barry hears the insult anyways.

"Alright, where's your car?" Barry asks.

"Didn't drive. I walked today." Sebastian lets his head loll to the side. "Go away."

"Nope." Barry shakes his head. "Not until you go home."

"Don't wanna." Sebastian whimpers. "S'too empty." His head drops to the bar.

Despite his extreme annoyance, Barry feels his heart break a little. While he's out celebrating the best night of his life, his brother is just about at rock bottom.

"Come on, I'll take you home. Here, give me your keys now while you're still conscious." Barry sighs.

"Left 'em at the office." Sebastian mumbles, voice slightly muffled.

"Fine. Don't move." Barry orders. Then he walks back to the table where the others are waiting expectantly.

"He doesn't have his keys on him so I'll have to take him back to your house." He tells Joe.

"Is he okay?" Henry asks, looking over at his son, slumped against the bar.

"Jury's still out." Barry says grimly.

"Let's head back." Joe says. "I'll get the car."


	33. 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentions of past abuse

_Sebastian plays the last few notes and ends with a flourish. The room erupts in applause and he takes a bow. Sebastian steps back to let one of his cousins have a turn at the new piano._

_"That was wonderful, dear." His mother comes up and kisses his cheek._

_"Thank you, Mother." Sebastian smiles. "Where is Father?"_

_"Right here." A booming voice fills the room. "Sebastian."_

_"Father." Sebastian nods his head._

_"You came alone?" His father asks._

_"Of course." Sebastian answers._

_"I thought you had a girlfriend. Alex, was it?" His mother asks. "Why didn't you bring her? We'd have loved to meet her."_

_"It's about time you got married." His father adds. Sebastian groans. Now he's remembering why he hates family dinners. Every opportunity they get, his parents press him about getting married and preserving the Smythe line._

_"Alex couldn't make it. H-she had work tonight." Sebastian winces at his slip up, but his parents don't seem to notice._

_"That's unfortunate. Doesn't she know she doesn't need to have a job once you're married?" His father scoffs._

_"Father, Alex enjoys his work. And we're not likely to get married." Sebastian says. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you guys. Can we talk? In the library?"_

_"Of course, darling." His mother answers. His father seems a bit more suspicious, but follows them._

_"Well?" His father prompts._

_"Mom, Dad," Sebastian takes a deep breath. "Alex is not a girl."_

_"What? Don't be silly, dear." His mother laughs._

_"I'm serious. I'm gay. I like guys." Sebastian breathes out. There's silence from his parents. Then his father explodes._

Sebastian sits straight up, hyperventilating and covered in sweat. It'd been weeks since he'd last had one of those nightmares, but it appears that they're back. He looks around the room and instantly recognizes it as the West house.

"Damn it," Sebastian swears. He vaguely remembers Barry coming up to him at a bar the previous night. He glances at the clock on the wall. It's still early enough for him to sneak out without being noticed. As quietly as possible, Sebastian gathers up his jacket that's lying on the back of the couch he'd been sleeping on and walks to the front door to find his shoes. Why is this house so creaky?

"Sebastian?" He spins around to see Iris standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Iris, hi." Sebastian finally locates his shoes. "I'm just heading out. I have to get to work."

"It's Saturday." Iris says. "You don't have work today. Plus, I heard the DA gave you a couple days off anyways after your traumatic experience."

"Right." Sebastian should've known that that would get out. "Look, I appreciate you guys letting me crash here, but I really should get home."

"Sebastian? Are you leaving already?" Sebastian almost lets out a long string of expletives at the sound of Joe's voice. Why can't he just leave in peace?

"Why's everyone talking so loudly?" Barry joins the group, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Sebastian feels like screaming.

"I'm just going home. I didn't realize that required such a large goodbye party," Sebastian rolls his eyes, then instantly regrets it. His pounding headache from his hangover did not appreciate that.

"Why don't you stay for breakfast?" Joe suggests. "We can make it a whole family breakfast for once."

"No thanks." Sebastian turns down. "Not that I don't like being here, but I don't like being here."

"Come on, Seb." Iris says. "I'll make sure no one in this room calls you for an entire week." Now that's tempting. Sebastian knows they can all see him considering Iris' offer.

"Fine. One hour." Sebastian gives in, setting his shoes down. "That's it. And any questions I don't like, I'm not gonna answer."

"Great!" Barry seems to suddenly perk up. He bounds down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen. "Let's get cooking!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sebastian is sitting at the table of the West house, trying to ignore the loud singing coming from the kitchen. His hangover is still killing him and the remnants of his dream on his mind makes him feel like throwing up. By the sounds coming from the kitchen, Sebastian guesses that the pancakes are done. Barry bursts through the door carrying a large platter.

"Here." Joe reaches out and takes it from him. "Go get your dad and then we'll start." Sebastian stiffens, registering what Joe had just said. Your dad. Henry was here. Sebastian immediately stands up.

"I need to go." He says and starts walking towards the door.

"Hey!" Iris runs over and grabs his arm. "We haven't eaten yet. Come on."

"I can't be here." Sebastian tries to pull his arm away from Iris, but only succeeds in aggravating a large bruise on his shoulder from his earlier kidnapping.

"Wow, something smells good." Sebastian freezes at the sound of Henry's voice. Barry comes down the stairs and behind him, Henry. Sebastian can't breathe.

"Hey Joe, Iris." Then Henry sees Sebastian.

"Sebastian." Henry says.

"Henry." Sebastian responds stiffly.

"How are you feeling?" Henry asks.

"Fine. I was just leaving." Sebastian manages to pry his arm away from Iris. "You kids have fun."

"Sebastian," Henry calls out. "I love you."

Sebastian pauses as he bends down to get his jacket. Then he straightens up and looks Henry dead in the eye.

"No you don't. None of you do. None of you did. Only one person ever did, and I ruined that." Sebastian bites out. Then, he tries to make his escape, but in a flash of lightning, Barry races to the door before he can.

"Seb," Barry starts. "Come on. It's just breakfast."

"With him?" Sebastian points at Henry.

"He's innocent. Even you know that now." Barry throws his hands up in the air.

"I need to leave." Sebastian insists. He tries to keep the tremble from his voice, but it's hard to hide his desperation.

"Why can't you just act normal and have breakfast with your family?" Barry asks, irritated, not seeing Sebastian's discomfort. Sebastian tries to keep it together, but at Barry's outburst, he gives in.

"What do you want from me, Barry? Why don't you understand that I'm not like you? I don't do family breakfasts. I'm the kind of guy who spends half the day working and half the day drinking. I'm the guy parents tell their kids to stay away from." Sebastian shouts. "I don't do the right thing. I'm selfish, I'm-" Sebastian closes his eyes and suddenly he's no longer at the West house. He's back at the Smythe manor, listening to the words pouring out of his father's mouth as Sebastian lies curled up on the ground, broken and bloody.

_"You are nothing but a selfish, perverted, revolting, self-centered, rotten, animal! You're not fit to be my son or anyone's son! You're no better than the scum that we put away to rot in jail. No one could love you."_

"You didn't want me." Sebastian whispers, all the fight suddenly gone from him. He slumps against the wall and sinks to the ground. "No one did."

The room is silent, but Sebastian seems not to notice anyone else. It's as if he's lost in his own head. Barry looks at his dad, who looks back at him. None of them know what to do.

"Seb?" Barry finally speaks up. Sebastian doesn't respond. He's too lost in memory to hear anything that's being said.

"What did I do wrong?" Sebastian whispers. "I've done everything you asked."

"Seb, it's okay." Joe takes a step forwards, speaking slowly.

"I can't. I can't help it." Sebastian is still speaking softly, but he's not talking to them. "Please. Dad, stop. Stop. I'll be better."

The others in the room look at each other when the last word leaves Sebastian's mouth. Joe looks horrorstruck and Barry feels the blood drain from his face. Iris brings her hands up to cover her mouth in a gasp. They have their answer.

"What's going on?" Henry asks, noticing their reactions.

"I um, I didn't want to worry you when you were in prison." Barry starts. "Sebastian moved to Central covered in cuts and bruises. He um, refused to tell us the truth of where he got them."

"Smythe." Henry says out loud what they're all thinking. "He's the one that hurt Seb."

"It seems that he did." Joe says grimly, looking down at the broken young man in front of him. "In more ways than one."


	34. 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mentions of attempted suicide (past)

It's too much. Sebastian can't breathe. His ribs are aching, the scars on his body pulsing with the memory of the pain. He needs something, anything to hold on to. The voices swirling around in his head are too loud. His father's voice, shouting. His mother screaming. Blaine leaving.

Sebastian digs his fingernails into his arms, trying desperately to feel something. But as his nails press deeper, a hand covers his and gently pries his fingers away.

"Sebastian," Henry kneels down next to him. "Seb, can you take a deep breath?"

Sebastian fights it. He pushes the voice out of his mind. No, go away. Murderer, evil, he chants silently.

"Seb," Henry keeps his voice calm. "It's okay. You're safe."

Sebastian is trembling, shaking from head to toe. "No, no, no, no, no." The word falls from his lips almost without sound. He's falling apart. Piece by piece, Sebastian can feel his body, mind, and soul being ripped away. But then he's pulled into warmth. Subconsciously, Sebastian leans into it, seeking the comfort, the knowledge that when he falls, there will be someone there to catch him. He closes his eyes and starts to sob.

 

When Henry leans in to hug Sebastian, Barry thinks that Sebastian will push him away. When he doesn't, Barry can't help the tears that come to his eyes.

They seem to stand there for hours, Sebastian crying while clutching Henry's arms. Finally, he seems to realize his surroundings. He jerks up and pushes himself away from Henry.

"I'm sorry." Sebastian scrambles to his feet, looking utterly confused as to how he ended up on the ground.

"Seb, are you okay?" Barry asks, unable to keep quiet.

"I'm fine." Sebastian answers shakily.

"I hated it, you know." Barry says.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asks.

"I knew we were being separated because of me." Barry continues, needing to say this. "I knew it, but I thought you had the Smythes. Dad had no one but me, but you, you had a family willing to love you. I thought by choosing him, I was helping everyone. I hated that we were apart, but I couldn't leave Dad. I hate myself now, knowing I could've done something."

"That's not the point, Barry." Sebastian sighs. Barry doesn't answer. He only raises an eyebrow questioningly.

"You were the one who fought the police, who yelled at the lawyers, and refused to sit quietly in the courtroom. You were the one that ran away and cried and didn't listen. But they all fought for you. I was the one who was sent away, to live in another country. I was forced to leave behind my home, my friends, my achievements, even my name. You think you had a tough time? I was an eleven year old boy, who'd just lost both his parents and his brother, living in a country where I didn't speak the language and my only human contact was my nanny, who didn't know any English. I was scared, I was angry, and most of all, I hated you. I knew it was because of you. Because you didn't listen. You couldn't sit down and shut up for once in your life. And you were rewarded for it, while I was punished." Sebastian takes a steadying breath. "When I told you I erased us from each other's files because I was angry, I lied. I was angry, but it was much more than that. I didn't want to exist."

"Seb...." Barry whispers, but Sebastian keeps going.

"I spent nights lying awake, wishing, praying that by some magical power I'd be killed in my sleep. I just wanted it to be over. So I planned. I hacked into the CCPD database and erased all mention of me. I wrote a virus that located most of the articles that had anything to do with me in Central and deleted them. Then I made sure my nanny was busy, and I broke into my parent's medicine cabinet." Sebastian stares at the ground. "I figured if I got caught, they would just think I was sleeping as opposed to freaking out over a pool of blood."

"Oh my god." Iris presses a hand to her mouth. Sebastian ignores her.

"It almost worked. Everything had been planned, down to the position I'd lie in as I died. The one thing I didn't account for was the pills I'd chosen. I'd done my research, so I knew the pills could get the job done, but I didn't realize my dad was a part of a clinical trial. Half the pills were sugar pills. All the attempt did was make me throw up." Sebastian lets out a bitter laugh. "I tried three more times after that, but they were all unsuccessful, obviously."

"Didn't they do anything?" Joe asks, meaning the Smythes.

"They never knew." Sebastian shrugs. "I was good at keeping secrets. I only told them things when I thought they'd be okay with it."

"That's not...." Barry trails off, unsure of what to say.

"Healthy?" Sebastian huffs. "Yeah, well neither is beating the s*** out of your adult son for telling you he's gay."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They'd already come to that conclusion, but Barry's shocked nonetheless.

"Seb, I'm so sorry." He finally says.

"It doesn't matter, it's over now." Sebastian shakes his head.

"What happened to him?" Henry asks. "Did he go to jail?"

"No," Sebastian tells him. "No, argued in court a bit then we agreed to a settlement. I got half the fortune as it stood and they left the country."

"What was there to argue?" Joe asks, sounding disgusted.

"He didn't feel as though he'd done anything wrong." Sebastian shrugs, trying to pass as nonchalant. "Of course, he also spun the story very differently."

"He lied?" Iris clarifies.

"You could say that." Sebastian acknowledges. "It's in the past. We've all moved on."

"Okay." Barry doesn't want to drop it, but he thinks back to Sebastian's reactions to their questions earlier on.

"You know that's not true, right?" Joe adds. "We fought so hard to keep you. We wanted you."

Sebastian looks at him a moment then sighs. "It doesn't make a difference now. Like I said, it's in the past. Too late to change anything."

Then he drags his gaze around the room, taking in their facial expressions. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Barry asks, startled.

"Stop pitying me." Sebastian growls. "What about me do you see that needs pity? Sure, I'm not the healthiest person alive, but I have a job, friends, and a life. So stop pitying me."

"We're not!" Iris protests, but they all know it's a lie.

"Don't pity me, and don't condescend to me." Sebastian hardens his stare.

"Okay. Is there any way we can help you?" Barry asks.

"I don't need help." Sebastian insists.

"Are you sure there's nothing?" Joe asks.

"Trust me, I'm sure." Sebastian says.

"Fine." Joe doesn't push it. "I just want to say, um, I'm sorry for thinking the worst of you when you got here. And I'm sorry we tried to pry into your life." Barry and Iris nod in agreement. Sebastian just shrugs.

"Sebastian, can I ask you a question?" Henry tentatively speaks up. "You don't have to answer, but I'm curious."

"What?" Sebastian says.

"You said one person loved you. Who were you referring to?" Henry asks.

Sebastian casts his eyes downwards, suddenly quiet. "It's not important. There's nothing I can do. It's over now," he mumbles. "I have to go."

Before anyone of them can move, Sebastian slips out the door and disappears from the house.


	35. 35

The next day, Sebastian finds himself at the house again. The house he'd grown up in. This time, instead of having a breakdown, though, Sebastian's letting go.

 He looks up at the house again, letting the memories flow over him. The lights of the police cars. The sirens, the screaming, the crowd of people trying to get in and out of the house. The flash of the cameras. The overwhelming sense of confusion. Betrayal.

Then, it'd been too much. He'd shut down, letting the officer lead him away. Now, it comes as a jolt of reality. This is who he is. No matter how many times he tells himself he's moved on, he's still that little boy.

Sebastian closes his eyes. Today would change that. Today, when he walks away from this house, he's leaving it here, no longer carrying it with him.

He stands in front of the house for a while, not caring that the neighbors are probably calling the police on him for suspicious behavior. Then, Sebastian finally turns to leave. He has a lunch appointment, after all.

 

Barry's not entirely sure Sebastian will even show up. Sure, Sebastian had been the one to propose the meeting, but Barry wasn't ruling out a no show. This was Sebastian after all.

Barry's proven wrong when Sebastian strides in through the doors of the restaurant.

"Hey," Barry greets his brother.

"Barry." Sebastian responds.

"I have to admit, I was surprised when you called." Barry says.

"So was I." Sebastian sits down opposite Barry. "But, I'd already started down this path, so I might as well see it through."

"Okay, so what did you want to talk about?" Barry asks.

"Nothing in particular." Sebastian peruses the menu sitting in front of him. "In fact, if this entire lunch passes without another word between us, I wouldn't be disappointed."

"You know that's not going to happen, right?" Barry says. "This is me you're eating lunch with."

"Unfortunately, yes. I do know that. Apparently I'm into self-inflicted pain." Sebastian settles on his lunch choice. "Have you already ordered?"

"No," Barry answers. "I was waiting for you.

"Alright. Let's order then." Sebastian flags down a waiter.

 

Halfway through the meal, Barry is suddenly reminded of the question he wants to ask Sebastian. Unfortunately, it's one that'll more likely than not result in Sebastian storming out of the restaurant.

"Can I ask you a personal, nosy, and probably invasive question?" Barry prefaces it, figuring if Sebastian gets offended, he can't say Barry didn't warn him.

"If you really feel the need." Sebastian says. "I'm not going to answer it, though."

"That's fair." Barry agrees. "What's going on with you and Blaine?"

Sebastian doesn't answer. He just reaches for his glass and takes a sip of water. Then he levels his gaze at Barry. Barry has to work to keep himself from wilting under his brother's hard stare. Sebastian's using his I'm-a-prosecutor-who's-going-to-send-your-guilty-self-to-jail face.

"Nothing." Sebastian decides to answer the question. "Absolutely nothing."

"Uh huh." Barry is skeptical. "That's why you two haven't spoken since the trial, right?"

"Exactly. We are acquaintances." Sebastian says.

"Acquaintances that used to have lunch together nearly every single day?" Barry asks. Sebastian's forehead wrinkles.

"How?" Sebastian asks.

"You look like me, remember? There was some confusion and some of the employees thought I was you and made a comment about me always being there." Barry explains. "So no, I have not been stalking or spying on you."

"Considering it's you, I hadn't ruled that out." Sebastian shrugs. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because you were a lot nicer when you two were dating." Barry says.

"One, I was not nice. And two, no one said we were dating." Sebastian responds.

"Okay." Barry lets it go, able to recognize when Sebastian isn't going to give in. "One last question: are you still in love with him?"

Sebastian doesn't answer, but Barry understands.


	36. 36

Okay, so he's a bad liar. Barry's accepted that for years, but until today, he'd never wished so desperately that it was false. After lunch with Sebastian, Barry'd gone to visit Leonard. It'd been fun, but now he was late for dinner, and the excuse he'd come up with on the way wasn't cutting it.

"You're telling me that you spent five hours at the zoo?" Joe says. "Barry, you lied better when you were a teen, covering for Iris sneaking out at night."

"Look, I needed some time after my talk with Sebastian." Barry looks down at the ground.

"If you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me, you know." Iris tells him.

"I know. I just needed to be by myself." Barry says.

"So you broke into the zoo." Joe responds.

"What?" Barry's head snaps up to look at him.

"Barry, the zoo was closed today due to maintenance." Iris tells him.

"Oh." Barry winces. Dang, he'd been caught.

"You're an adult, Barry. You don't need to tell us everywhere you go, but when you lie like that...." Joe points out. "Are you okay, Barry?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I lied." Barry admits. "I just... I've been figuring things out."

"Okay." Iris walks over to him and hugs him. "It's probably been a lot, hasn't it? What with your dad and Sebastian and all that."

"Yeah," Barry nods, thankful that Iris came up with his excuse for him.

"And your secret boyfriend." Iris continues and Barry is a lot less thankful.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Barry stutters. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well, if you told us, he wouldn't be so secret, would he?" Iris laughs. "Come on. Who is he?"

Barry looks helplessly at Joe, but for once, Joe doesn't seem like he's going to intervene on Iris' interrogation.

"Fine." Barry decides to throw caution to the wind. "Iris is right. I am seeing someone."

"Who?" Iris presses, excitedly.

"I don't think I should." Barry hesitates. "You- well, you guys know, kinda, know this person."

"Come on." Iris begs. "It can't be that bad."

"Fine." Barry presses his lips together. "I'm dating Leonard Snart."

And with that, Barry turns and exits the house as quickly as possible, but even at superhuman speeds, he can still hear Iris' disbelieving and outraged cry.


	37. Epilogue: Part 1

Barry sits back down and laughs. It's a busy night at the karaoke bar and he's determined to get Len to do a song. It's only been a week since Joe and Iris had come to terms with them dating and Barry figures it'll make Len less threatening if he sings a song. Maybe they could do a duet. Thinking about singing reminds Barry of his brother. Sebastian is sitting across the table from him, making scoffing comments about the current singer.

"Please, even the public schoolers sang better than that, and we were in high school." He rolls his eyes. Len huffs a little laugh and Barry elbows him.

"Be nice." He hisses. Len just smirks and gives him a kiss, fully aware of Joe narrowing his eyes. Barry looks at Sebastian again. He doesn't seem to be having as much fun, but that (hopefully) would change soon. Barry had arranged for a bit of a surprise that could either go really well or really poorly. Only one way to find out. Barry glances at his watch and smiles. It's time.

The next person walks up to the stage and a familiar tune starts playing. At first, Sebastian doesn't seem to take notice, but the minute the singer sings out the first note, his head snaps up. Barry, Len, Joe, and Iris all turn slowly to watch Sebastian. Sebastian's watching the stage in rapt attention.

Sebastian continues staring at the singer as the last notes of I Want You Back ring out and he seems unable to do anything. When he's done, the singer makes his way over to their table.

"Hey," Blaine says. "How're you guys doing?"

"Great. You should join us." Barry says, as if he hadn't invited Blaine in the first place. "Seb, move your chair."

Sebastian doesn't respond for a moment. Then he gets up suddenly and walks away.

"I don't think he wants me here." Blaine says quietly.

"No, no. Have a seat. I'll go talk to him." Barry says.

"No, I'll go." Len stands up. "I think I know why he's upset." Len leaves in the direction Sebastian left, leaving a crestfallen Blaine standing by the table unsure.

"Here, sit down. D'you want something to drink?" Barry offers.

"I'm fine, thanks. I don't think I've met all of you." Blaine politely declines.

"Right! I completely forgot. This is Joe, my dad, and Iris, my sister." Barry introduces them. "Iris, Joe this is Blaine."

"Great to finally meet you," Joe reaches over and shakes his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Blaine." Iris smiles. "Are you from Central?"

"No, actually, I'm from Ohio." Blaine answers, taking a seat at the table.

"That's cool. How long have you lived in Central?" Iris asks.

"A couple years." Blaine answers.

"Blaine runs a dance studio." Barry contributes.

"Wow, that's impressive. So you're a dancer?" Joe says.

"Yeah, I've been doing it since I was a kid." Blaine smiles.

"That's so cool," Iris says. "I always wanted to learn how to dance. So how do you know Barry and Seb?"

"Well, I met Barry when he ran samples after a breakin at my apartment." Blaine says. "And I've known Seb since high school. We went to rival schools and frequently competed against each other."

"Oh, did you play lacrosse?" Joe asks.

"What? No, we-" Blaine is cut off by Len's return.

"Show, don't tell." He interrupts.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asks. The rest of the table looks just as confused. Len's only response is nod towards the stage where once again a new performer is walking up. When the music starts, it's Blaine's turn to inhale sharply. Probably for a different reason than the rest of the table.

Sebastian's on the stage pouring his heart into a rendition of Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson.

"Seb sings?" Iris says, shocked.

"Wait, you guys competed in a singing competition?" Joe makes the connection. They turn to Blaine for confirmation, but he's too focused on the stage.

"Show choir." Len corrects. "Seb told me when we talked." They all look at Len in disbelief before staring back at the stage where Sebastian is wowing the audience. Barry looks over at Blaine and notices tears gathering in his eyes.

As he gets to the end of the song, Sebastian turns and looks directly at their table. He makes eye contact with Blaine as he sings the last line.

"Oh my god. Did you know Seb could sing?" Iris is the first one at their table to speak. They all shake their heads except for Blaine.

"Of course I knew. He's even better than he was back then." Blaine whispers. Sebastian is walking back to the table and seems a bit nervous.

"That was incredible." Joe says.

"I know." Sebastian shrugs and smirks. They all roll their eyes, but Barry notices that Sebastian is watching for Blaine's reaction.

"Any reason you chose that song in particular?" Blaine asks in a way that makes Barry think he already knows the answer.

"Why'd you choose I Want You Back?" Sebastian returns.

"Touche." Blaine smiles, nervously, but still smiles. "D'you um, want to find somewhere quieter? To talk?"

"Lead the way, killer." Sebastian nods. Blaine gets up from the table. He thanks Barry and the others for letting him join them, then he and Sebastian walk towards the exit.

"Wow. That was unexpected." Iris says.

"I know right? What a coincidence that Blaine just happened to show up tonight. Almost as if someone invited him." Len comments drily, giving Barry a look.

"Purely coincidence." Barry says firmly, staring back at Len unrepentantly. "Besides, it had a good outcome, didn't it?"

"Oh, Barry." Joe chuckles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I can't do this. Why is he even here?" Sebastian leans his head back on the wall as he comes to a halt in the hallway by the restrooms. Len walks up to him.

"Did you know he'd be here?" Sebastian demands. "Don't bother trying to lie."

"I won't. And I didn't." Len says, raising his hands in surrender. "I did suspect Barry was up to something though. What's wrong with Blaine being here?"

"What's wrong with-" Sebastian runs a hand through his hair. "Everything! Him, his song-"

"What about his song choice?" Len asks.

"In high school, we were in rival show choirs. We invited them to watch us practice, you know, for intimidation purposes, but I also used it to flirt with Blaine. I sang him that song." Sebastian groans.

"Maybe that's why he chose it. By choosing that song, he's asking you a question." Len suggests. Sebastian looks over at him. "And maybe, instead of freaking out by the bathrooms, you should get up there and give him an answer."

"But what if he doesn't want me?" Sebastian's whisper is almost inaudible, but Len catches it.

"Seb, he made the first move. Sure, you guys have a lot of history, not all of it good, but if he really didn't want you, he wouldn't have gone up there tonight. Trust me, if you're sure about him, don't second guess yourself." Len says in a rare moment of revealing emotion.

Sebastian doesn't respond for a second. Then he stands up straight and smooths his shirt. "I've got the perfect song."


	38. Epilogue: Part II

"Mmph, Seb, we're going to be late." Blaine scrambles away as Sebastian presses in to kiss him again.

"We don't have to go." Sebastian groans, reaching an arm out. Blaine swats it away.

"Nope. This is the first time I'm meeting Henry and the others. I want to make a good impression." Blaine holds up a couple shirts for Sebastian to see. "The green or the grey?"

Sebastian pouts and rolls over to look up at Blaine. "You wouldn't have to worry about clothing if we just stayed in tonight. I can tell them that one of us got sick."

"I'll go with the grey. It'll be a good balance to your blue." Blaine decides, ignoring Sebastian.

"I haven't agreed to wear that shirt." Sebastian says.

"You will." Blaine smiles at Sebastian. "And you're are going to be nice tonight."

"Oh come on, Blaine. Think about it this way. If I'm rude, you'll seem even more angelic than usual. Not that it matters anyway, they'll love you." Sebastian tries to reason.

"Nope." Blaine says again, changing into his shirt.

"Just one insult? One good crack at Barry?" Sebastian begs, lower lip jutting out.

"I can't control what you say, Seb. I do control your sex life though. Keep that in mind." Blaine finishes changing and leans down to give Sebastian a kiss before disappearing out of the bedroom. "Come on! Get dressed or we're going to be late!"

 

They end up being just a little late to the dinner. Sebastian, as usual, was being stubborn and a pain, but Blaine had managed to drag him away from the apartment.

"You guys made it!" Iris exclaims when she opens the door and Sebastian has to physically bite his tongue in order to prevent himself from making a sarcastic remark. His efforts don't go unnoticed by Blaine, who smiles knowingly at him.

"Thanks for inviting us." Blaine gives her a hug and they both step inside. Everyone else is already there. Sebastian introduces Blaine to the room.

"Blaine, this is Cisco and Caitlin, they're Barry's friends." Sebastian gestures to the two who are standing by the fireplace.

"Hi, Blaine, was it?" Caitlin extends a hand which Blaine shakes readily.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you." Blaine smiles.

"Hey, Seb! You're here!" An older man comes into the living room with Joe.

"Hey, Henry." Sebastian nods. "Um, Blaine, this is Henry, my father. Henry, this is Blaine, my boyfriend."

Sebastian can't help the small smile that comes unbidden to his face when he introduces Blaine as his boyfriend. The word comes with no fear, no hesitation. He feels Blaine's hand slip into his and he gently squeezes.

"Hi, it's great to finally meet you. Sebastian's told me so much." Blaine shakes Henry's hand.

"It's nice to meet you too. I've been excited to meet you ever since Sebastian first mentioned you." Henry smiles widely. "Did you boys get here okay?"

"The drive was fine." Blaine answers, knowing Sebastian's distaste for smalltalk.

"That's good." Henry positively beams. Sebastian's pretty sure he could have introduced Eobard Thawne as his boyfriend and they all would have been ecstatic. Sometimes they went a bit overboard on trying to make him feel accepted, but this was one occasion Sebastian doesn't mind it.

"So Seb tells me you're a dancer?" Henry asks.

"Yeah, I run a dance studio." Blaine answers. Sebastian gently lets go of Blaine's hand and presses a kiss to his shoulder.

"I'm going to go get a drink. Do you want something?" He murmurs.

"I'm good." Blaine smiles before going back to talking to Henry, who seems overly interested in Blaine's studio.

Sebastian walks through the dining room to the kitchen to see what kind of beer the Wests keep.

"Seb." Barry greets him.

"Barry." Sebastian walks past him to the fridge. "Why are you hiding in the kitchen?"

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Barry challenges.

"I wish. No, I'm just grabbing a beer then I have to go make sure no one interrogates Blaine." Sebastian peruses their alcohol selection, taking it in with disapproval.

"I should go say hi to Blaine." Barry muses, not moving from his perch on the counter.

"Hmmm." Sebastian chooses a beer and pops the top off before turning and giving his brother a long look. "You deflected that a lot better than I expected."

"What?" Barry asks.

"You're not the type to hide." Sebastian takes a thoughtful swig. "As much as I hate talking to you, this intrigues me."

"I'm not hiding." Barry squirms. Sebastian doesn't even have to press him for answers before Barry cracks.

"Fine. I'm in here because if I go out there, they're all going to grill me about Len." Barry rolls his eyes.

"I thought they were all okay with it." Sebastian says.

"That doesn't mean they like it." Barry shrugs. "I'm just not in the mood to get passive aggressively judged."

"Well, I should probably get back to Blaine." Sebastian says. "A piece of advice: if you know Len is right for you, tell them. Stop defending him and asking for their acceptance. Demand they respect your choices and your boyfriend. Otherwise you'll spend your whole relationship fearing their perception of you and him."

With those words of wisdom, Sebastian walks out of the kitchen.

 

Barry stares at his brother's retreating form, wondering if Sebastian's right. He peeks out from the doorway and watches as Sebastian walks up behind Blaine, wrapping an arm around his waist. Maybe Sebastian does know what he's talking about. Barry reaches for his phone and sends a quick text. The reply is almost instant and Barry can feel his heart begin to race. He takes a deep breath and walks out into the living room.

"Barry!" Blaine sees him and breaks into a smile. Well, bigger smile, since he's already been smiling.

"Hey, how're you doing? It's been a while." Barry hugs him.

"I've been good. Great. It has been a while, hasn't it?" Blaine laughs and throws a glance up at Sebastian.

"Yeah." Barry agrees. The last time Barry had seen Blaine was that karaoke night when Barry had set up Blaine and Sebastian.

"So how've you been?" Blaine asks.

"Not bad." Barry answers.

"And how's Len doing?" Blaine asks.

"Fine. Actually, if you want to ask him yourself, I invited him over. Last minute." Barry tells him.

"That's awesome. I didn't know he was coming." Blaine says. "I'd love to see him again."

"Yeah, I haven't told anyone yet." Barry admits.

"Barry Allen. I'm shocked with you." Sebastian shakes his head mockingly. "What happened to mr. golden boy?"

"I decided to take your advice." Barry tells Sebastian.

"That's a truly awful idea. Never take my advice." Sebastian says. "Blaine can tell you from experience, it doesn't go well."

"I don't know. The advice you gave me in the kitchen was different from your usual advice." Barry reasons.

"What'd he say?" Blaine asks.

"He told me to stand up for Len and myself. It was actually quite sweet." Barry tells Blaine, watching his brother cringe at the word sweet.

"Never call me that again, Allen." Sebastian growls, but his threat is cut off by Blaine reaching up to kiss him.

"He's right." Blaine says. "You are sweet."

"And this is my cue to excuse myself to the bathroom." Sebastian grumbles, but he doesn't pull away. Barry can't help but grin at him. He's about to make a comment at Sebastian's expense, but the doorbell rings.

"I should get that." Barry says, suddenly nervous.

"Hey," Blaine taps him gently on the arm. "Seb and I are right here."

"Thanks." Barry takes a deep breath. "Let's do this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap. Thank you so much for reading! All of your comments and kudos helped to keep me motivated.
> 
> Please feel free to leave any suggestions/critiques in the comments. I'll probably write some one-shots set in this AU. The first one, Gemini, is already published: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18548788

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for reading! This is my first attempt writing fanfic in these fandoms. Comments are always welcome!
> 
> Updates will happen, just not super consistently.


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